Colloquial
Italian
The Colloquial Series
Series Adviser: Gary King
The following languages are available in the Colloquial series:
Afrikaans
Albanian
Amharic
*Arabic (Levantine)
Arabic of Egypt
*Arabic of the Gulf
and Saudi Arabia
*Basque
Breton
*Bulgarian
Cambodian
Cantonese
Catalan
Chinese
Croatian
Czech
Danish
Dutch
English
Estonian
Finnish
French
German
Greek
*Gujarati
Hebrew
Hindi
Hungarian
Icelandic
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Latvian
Lithuanian
Malay
Mongolian
Norwegian
*Panjabi
Persian
Polish
Portuguese
Portuguese of
Brazil
Romanian
Russian
Scottish Gaelic
Serbian
Slovak
Slovene
*Somali
Spanish
Spanish of Latin
America
Swahili
Swedish
Tamil
Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
*Urdu
Vietnamese
Welsh
COLLOQUIAL CD-ROMs
Multimedia Language Courses
Chinese
Spanish
French
Portuguese
Accompanying cassette(s) and CDs are available for all the above
titles (cassettes only for the titles marked with *). They can be
ordered through your bookseller, or send payment with order to
Routledge Ltd, ITPS, Cheriton House, North Way, Andover, Hants
SP10 5BE, or to Routledge Inc, 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY
10016, USA.
COLLOQUIAL 2s Series
The Next Step in Language Learning
Dutch
Russian
French
Spanish
Italian
Spanish of Latin
America
Colloquial
Italian
The Complete Course
for Beginners
Sylvia Lymbery
First published 1996 by Routledge
Reprinted 1998, 1999 (twice), 2000, 2001
Second edition published 2005
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
© 2005 Sylvia Lymbery
Typeset in Times by
Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Lymbery, Sylvia.
Colloquial Italian: the complete course for beginners/
Sylvia Lymbery. – 2nd edn.
p. cm – (The colloquial series)
Includes index.
1. Italian language – Conversation and phrase books –
English. 2. Italian language – Textbooks for foreign
speakers – English. 3. Italian language – Spoken Italian.
I. Title. II. Series
PC1121.L95 2005
458.3′421 – dc22
2004024087
ISBN
ISBN
ISBN
ISBN
0–415–36268–7
0–415–36269–5
0–415–36270–9
0–415–36271–7
(pbk)
(audio cassettes)
(audio CDs)
(pack)
This book is dedicated to
Charlotte
Contents
Acknowledgments
Map of Italy
About this book
The sounds of Italian
1 Buongiorno, un caffè per favore
ix
x
xi
xv
1
Good morning, a coffee please
2 Mi chiamo Harry, sono americano, e Lei?
16
My name’s Harry, I’m American, and you?
3 In città
32
In town
4 In viaggio
50
Travelling
5 Vorrei comprare/Quanto costa?
65
I’d like to buy/How much does it cost?
6 Appuntamenti
81
Engagements
7 Giriamo
102
Let’s get out and about
8 Un po’ di geograﬁa
121
A little geography
9 Buon appetito
Enjoy your meal
136
viii
Contents
10 Buone vacanze
148
Have a good holiday
11 Che cosa ha visto?
163
What did you see?
12 Ecco la mia casa
177
This is my home
13 La vita è cambiata
188
Life has changed
14 Alla salute!
202
Here’s to your health!
15 Buona fortuna!
215
Good luck!
16 Progetti e previsioni – che sarà, sarà
232
Plans and predictions – what will be, will be
17 Un vestito per un matrimonio
246
A dress for a wedding
Grammar summary
260
Key to exercises
278
Italian–English glossary
303
English–Italian glossary
337
Index
346
Acknowledgments
I would like to offer my warmest thanks to the many friends who
helped me when I was writing Colloquial Italian. In particular, to
Angioletta Viviani, whose hospitality and advice helped me start
to prepare this new edition, and to Sandra Silipo for help and
advice. Others too numerous to list have helped in various ways,
and their support is very much appreciated. Thanks must also go
to Antonio Ravarino for his plan and architectural drawings.
I am also grateful to: the Editor of La Stampa, Torino, for permission to reproduce a weather forecast; to La Stampa and Lietta
Tornabuoni for permission to use parts of her article, Italia 1945–
1995 Con gli occhi aperti; the Editor and editorial staff of Vera magazine for permission to reproduce parts of the article Per le vie dei
borghi doc from the March 2003 issue; Bernardo Cioni and Lorenzo
Enriques of Zanichelli Editore for permission to reproduce Dott.
Cioni’s email; the Mayor of Apricale for permission to reproduce
the photo of Apricale from the town’s website: www.apricale.org;
Bologna Turismo – Redazione IAT for permission to reproduce the
photos of the Palazzo del Podestà in Piazza Maggiore and of the
fruit and vegetable shop in the Mercato Antico; the IAT of Perugia
for permission to reproduce the photo of the Palazzo dei Priori
and the Fontana Maggiore; the Azienda di Promozione Turistica di
Roma for permission to reproduce the photos of the Campidoglio
and of the Vittoriano; Suzanne Cousin for the photograph of Santa
Maria Novella, Florence; the Servizi Turistico-Ricreativi department
of the Province of Verona for permission to reproduce the photo of
the Roman Arena; the Comando Generale dell’Arma dei Carabinieri for permission to reproduce the photo of a carabiniere at work.
And ﬁnally my thanks go to Sophie Oliver and her helpful team
at Routledge.
Permission to use the extract ‘Il mio primo computer: Il pc ideale
per un bambino?’ from Anna magazine was sought but no reply
received.
Trentino-Alto
Adige
Aosta
Valle d Aosta
Lombardia
Milano
Trento Friuli-Venezia
Giulia
Veneto
Trieste
Venezia
Torino
Piemonte
Emilia-Romagna
Genova
Bologna
Liguria
Firenze
Toscana
Ancona
Marche
Perugia
Umbria
L Aquila
Lazio
Abruzzo
Molise
Roma
Campobasso
Bari
Campania
Napoli
Potenza
Puglia
Basilicata
Sardegna
Cagliari
Calabria
Catanzaro
Palermo
Sicilia
Italy: regions and regional capitals
About this book
So you are thinking of learning Italian? Or perhaps you are already
learning and want another approach to help you on your way?
Read on and you will see why Colloquial Italian could be just what
you are looking for.
Why Italian?
Italian is the language of Italy and it is also one of the four ofﬁcial languages of Switzerland. With a population of some 58 million
and an area of 301,323 sq km, Italy is a small country; but for more
than two thousand years its inhabitants have had signiﬁcant effects
on civilization, while the land of Italy has for centuries been a
source of pleasure and interest to travellers. Today it continues to
offer the tourist many and varied delights: scenery, artistic treasures, music, good food and wine, snow, sun and sea. The Italian
Republic is one of the founder members of the European Union
and for businesses Italy offers both opportunities and challenges.
There are problems of a political, economic and environmental
nature that may frustrate and annoy the traveller but overall Italy
is a very welcoming country and a fascinating subject of study.
The language is arguably the easiest European language for
English speakers to learn. The pronunciation seems easier than
French for English speakers, the grammar less tricky than that of
German or Russian. Furthermore, the spelling of the language
reﬂects the way words are said and the meanings of many of the
words are guessable.
Italian has its origins in Latin, the language spoken in Ancient
Rome. For anyone who has studied Latin or one of the Romance
languages (languages derived closely from Latin such as Spanish,
French or Portuguese), it is particularly approachable, for not only
will many more words be guessable but the structure too will be
xii
About this book
similar to that of the language they know. This is not to say it is
trouble free, but you, the learner, can feel optimistic as you start
the task.
As a nation-state Italy is young. It was united between 1860 and
1870 after centuries of division into a number of smaller states. At
the time of uniﬁcation Italian was essentially a written language
used by poets, playwrights and other writers. Only a small
percentage of the population spoke it. Most communicated in their
local dialect. Today universal education, military service, population mobility and television and radio mean that most Italians
speak and understand Italian although many also continue to speak
their local dialect.
Colloquial Italian
The aim has been to write a book in which the learner, who may
not have experience of learning foreign languages, is helped with
the difﬁculties, particularly in the early and potentially confusing
stages. At the same time we have tried not to insult the learner’s
intelligence. As has been said, many Italian words are guessable
and we have deliberately challenged the learner by introducing a
wide vocabulary, conﬁdent that he/she will ﬁnd it manageable. We
have tried, too, to entertain and stimulate.
As a language learner you need to be aware that different people
learn languages in different ways. Try to ﬁnd the way that works
for you. There are few people who can sit down with a grammar
book, read the rules, do some exercises and start speaking the
language. Many people ﬁnd it helpful to become familiar with
chunks of language, for instance the dialogues and texts in
Colloquial Italian. Listen to the recordings and try to get to know
them well; go back over them after a break, too, brushing up your
memory. Why not listen to the recordings in your car while you
sit in a trafﬁc jam? Or while you are doing something that does
not engage your mind? Gradually you will ﬁnd you can start to
express yourself in Italian. You can also try talking to yourself in
Italian, again in idle moments. It doesn’t matter that you may not
always get it right. It is the practice in trying to ﬁnd a way of saying
what you want to in Italian that helps.
Learning a language takes patience and determination. You
will have your ups and downs, your moments of frustration but
About this book
moments of satisfaction too. We recommend you try a ‘little and
often’ routine: work at your Italian regularly but not necessarily
for long periods of time.
Many people ﬁnd it helpful to back up their learning in every
way available to them: exchanging a few words with a friendly
waiter in an Italian restaurant, or watching Italian ﬁlms. Treat yourself to an Italian magazine or newspaper occasionally. The biggest
aid of all is a trip to Italy. Don’t, however, expect too much from
the ﬁrst visit. Much will depend on the extent to which you are
able to be with Italians and ‘have a go’. ‘Having a go’ is probably
the key to success. But beware: you will always understand more
than you can say. Make the most of each opportunity and above
all don’t worry about making mistakes. Italians are usually
delighted when foreigners try to speak their language. We can
almost guarantee they won’t laugh at you.
Getting started
You almost certainly already know a number of Italian words. Stop
reading and write down those that come into your mind. Add to
your list the names of places in Italy or of famous Italians that
come to mind.
Did your list include greetings such as ciao, arrivederci? Or
perhaps words relating to food and drink such as: pasta, spaghetti,
pesto, pizza, ciabatta, gelato, vino, cappuccino, gorgonzola, Chianti,
Asti spumante. You know words related to music such as:
orchestra, cello, piccolo, pianoforte, solo, soprano, aria. Or words
such as: chiaroscuro, fresco, ghetto, piazza, viva voce.*
How about the names of people and places? Did you have
Armani, Dolce e Gabbana, Gucci, Versace? Or Giotto, Botticelli,
Piero della Francesca? Or maybe Vivaldi, Puccini, Verdi,
Palestrina. Or again Maserati, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Fiat, Lancia,
or Romano Prodi, Roberto Benigni, Andrea Bocelli, Cecilia
Bartoli, . . . Oh, we nearly forgot Luciano Pavarotti! Or perhaps
you had some other words or names. It all depends on your own
personal interests. Place names are often anglicized: Rome, Venice,
Milan, Florence, Tuscany, Sicily . . . but you may know Palermo,
Cattolica, Rimini, Como, Garda, Brindisi . . .
* See p. xviii for an explanation of the use of underlining in this book to indicate
stress.
xiii
xiv
About this book
So you see you already have an idea of how Italian looks and
sounds. One immediately noticeable feature is that words mostly
end with vowels. You will gradually learn that these ﬁnal vowels
often carry meaning. Italian is an inﬂected language. This means
the endings of words vary to express grammatical information. To
a certain extent this happens in English: ‘book/books’, where the
‘s’ expresses the plural. It is more developed in Italian but you,
the learner, should not worry too much: in the heat of a conversation, if you are unsure, your meaning will usually be clear even
if you slur the word ending to cover your uncertainty. Gradually,
with practice, this aspect of the language slots into place.
So, you’re ready to go.
Good luck! In bocca al lupo!
The sounds
of Italian
What follows does not pretend to be a full treatment of Italian
pronunciation but rather a practical guide to help the foreign
learner speak in a way that is reasonably comprehensible and
acceptable. It should also be viewed as a reference section, which
will be difﬁcult to absorb in one reading but can be returned to
from time to time. There is also help in the matching section of
the recording that accompanies Colloquial Italian.
Italian spelling reﬂects the sounds of the Italian language on a
more direct basis than English spelling does for English. There are
however some cases where the spelling conventions of Italian
conﬂict with those of English and it is important that students get
these clear in their mind from the start.
Two consecutive vowels
Two vowels next to each other are each pronounced, rather than
run into each other as in English. For example, the Italian unit of
currency is un euro, in which, in contrast to English, the ‘eu’ is
pronounced as two separate sounds. Similarly:
paura buono paese
aereo
lui
lei
Double consonants
When a word is spelled with a double consonant, it is because the
sound is different from the same consonant written as a single
letter. It takes practice to get this right but it is important. Try to
linger on the double consonant or pause before it. The preceding
vowel becomes shorter: Listen to the difference:
pena/penna
steso/stesso
eco/ecco
fata/fatta
xvi
The sounds of Italian
Here are some more words with double consonants:
freddo
bello mamma
terra
stesso
anno
pazzo
cappuccino
nonno
‘r’ in Italian
The Italian r is rolled with the tongue. There is no real English
equivalent. The letter appears only when the r is pronounced:
porta, arte. Note the difference between cane ‘dog’ and carne
‘meat’. Some Italians make their r in their throats but it is always
audible and more prominent than in standard English.
And when there is double rr in the spelling, there are two rs in
the sound. Try these:
at the beginning of a word:
between two vowels:
double r:
after another consonant:
before another consonant:
riso
ora
birra
prima
arte
Roma
caro
ferro
crollo
porta
Rialto ragazzo
durare Torino
terra
burro
dramma
ormai urlo
So far, so good. The remaining sounds are, however, those where
the spelling conventions of English and Italian differ signiﬁcantly
and learners should pay particular attention to them. Using the
recordings and imitating them throughout the course will also help
you avoid errors.
The spellings gn, gli
These spellings represent sounds that are a little difﬁcult to
pronounce:
gn
is similar to the sound in the middle of onion
giugno
bagno
agnello
gl(i) is a little like the sound in the middle of million:
luglio
ﬁglio
maglia
gli
The sounds k and g ( as in ‘come’ and ‘go’) and
ch and j (as in ‘church’ and ‘judge’)
With the sounds k ( as in ‘come’ in English) and g (as in ‘go’)
there is no pronunciation problem, but the spelling depends on
which vowel follows. The vowels divide into two groups:
The sounds of Italian
xvii
1 If the vowel following k or g is a, o, u:
k is written ‘c’
cane, campo, caffè, casa, cosa, costa,
come, Como, curioso, cuore, cultura
g is written ‘g’
galleria, gamba, gallese, Garda, gondola,
gorgonzola, Goldoni, Gonzaga, guidare,
guardare, Gubbio, Guttuso
2 If the vowel following k or g is e, i:
k is written ‘ch’
che, orchestra, bruschetta, chi, chilo,
Cherubino, Michelangelo, Chianti,
Chiusi, Chioggia
g is written ‘gh’
ghetto, spaghetti, Ghirlandaio,
Lamborghini
The same grouping of vowels is also important in the spelling
conventions for the sound pairs ch (as in ‘church’) and j (as in
‘judge’)
1 If the vowel following ch or j is a, o, u:
ch is written ‘ci’
ciao, ciò, Luciano, Lancia
j is written ‘gi’
giapponese, giallo, giorno, giovedì, giù,
giusto, Giulia, Giuseppe
2 If the vowel following ch or j is e, i:
ch is written ‘c’
cento, cena, certo, violoncello, San
Francesco, Botticelli, cibo, cinema,
cappuccino, Puccini
j is written ‘g’
gente, generalmente, gelato, geograﬁa,
gita, girare, Gino, Gilda
The sound sh
Finally the spelling of the sound sh (as in ‘shoe’):
1 followed by a, o, u it is written ‘sci’:
sciarpa, sciopero, sciupare
2 followed by e or i it is written just ‘sc’:
scendere, pesce, sci, Gramsci
xviii
The sounds of Italian
Stress
The most common place for an Italian word to be stressed is on
the syllable before the last (the penultimate syllable, as underlined):
italiano
aeroporto
interessante il mondo moderno
la stazione della ferrovia
Some words are stressed on the ﬁnal vowel. In that case the vowel
is written with an accent:
città possibilità perciò
tivù
The most problematic words for the foreign learner are those
where the antepenultimate (the third from the end) syllable is
stressed:
sabato
domenica albero cinema chilometro
libero macchina medico telefono
lettera
There is no rule for this. Certain types of words, e.g. adjectives
ending in -atico (simpatico, democratico) or in -abile (probabile,
amabile) always have the stress on the antepenultimate syllable.
Occasionally, for instance, the stress may fall on the fourth
syllable from the end: this occurs in the third person plural of some
verbs, e.g. telefonano.
Dictionaries give help with stress and so does our ‘Italian–
English glossary’ (pp. 303–36), where underlining shows unusual
stress. Stress is also indicated in this way in the pronunciation
section of the book and in verb tables, etc. But in print or in writing,
it is not normally indicated. The best you can do is listen to Italians
speaking and try to build up a sound memory. However, stress is
important. The wrong stress is more likely to obscure your meaning
than a generally not very Italian-sounding accent.
Related to stress is intonation, the ‘tune of the phrase’. This is
also best acquired by imitation and should not constitute a big
problem.
The Italian alphabet
The Italian language uses an alphabet of twenty-one letters. The
other letters of our familiar twenty-six-letter alphabet are used in
writing foreign words. When spelling something out for someone,
The sounds of Italian
xix
especially over the telephone, it is usual to use the names of towns
to make the letter clear (as shown in the following list). Below is
a list of letters, with their pronunciations and the town name
usually used:
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
l
a
bi
ci
di
e
effe
gi
acca
i
elle
Ancona
Bologna/Bari
Como
Domodossola
Empoli
Firenze
Genova
hotel
Imola
Livorno
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
z
emme
enne
o
pi
cu
erre
esse
ti
u
vi/vu
zeta
Milano
Napoli
Otranto
Pisa
cu
Roma
Savona
Torino
Udine
Venezia
Zara
The following are not considered Italian letters and are used mainly
in foreign words:
j
k
w
i lungo/a
cappa
vi/vu doppio/a
x
y
ics
i greco/a, ipsilon
Examples of how a name can be spelt out, especially over the telephone:
Roma, Otranto, Savona, Savona, Imola = Rossi
Savona, Milano, Imola, Torino, hotel = Smith
Livorno, i greco, Milano, Bologna, Empoli, Roma, i greco
= Lymbery
The letters are considered either masculine or feminine: some
people will say i greca rather than i greco. They are not usually
made plural, so ss is due esse; also doppio esse or doppia esse.
Accents
An accent is used to indicate the stress when it falls on the ﬁnal
vowel of a word. There is some discussion in Italy about using
xx
The sounds of Italian
acute (´) or grave ( `) accents, particularly over the letter e, where
some people like to show an open e/closed e distinction. In practice, when writing, Italians write something that could be either:
. You are advised to do the same.
In a very few cases an accent is used to distinguish one word
from another:
e
da
ne
si
se
and
from
of it, of them etc.
oneself
if
è
dà
nè
sì
sè
la
li
the (also a pronoun)
(pronoun)
là
lì
is
gives
neither, nor
yes
oneself, himself, herself
(reﬂexive pronoun,
strong form)
there
there
Did you ﬁnd all this difﬁcult to absorb? Of course you did. Don’t
worry, it will gradually make sense. And don’t forget to use the
‘Sounds of Italian’ section on the recording.
1 Buongiorno,
un caffè per
favore
Good morning, a coffee please
In this unit you will learn about:
• Ordering a drink or a snack
• Greetings and simple courtesies
• Introducing Italian nouns, with indeﬁnite articles, e.g.
‘a coffee’, ‘an orangeade’; nouns ending in -o and -a
• Prices
• Numbers 1–10, 20–100, 200 etc.; 1,000, 2,000 etc.
• Singular personal pronouns, e.g. ‘I, she’ etc.
• The verbs ‘to be’ and ‘to have’ in the singular, e.g. ‘am’
Cultural point
First things ﬁrst, let’s get a drink. In Italy the bar (bar or caffè) is
a popular meeting place as well as being a place to drop in for a
coffee, a glass of water on a hot day, a snack or an ice cream.
Many bars have terraces where, in the summer, people sit outside
chatting, reading the newspaper or watching everyone else go by.
Of course there are bars of all sorts, from the very elegant to the
simple and down to earth. Popular drinks are:
caffè a small very strong black coffee, also called espresso
cappuccino a small, very strong, black coffee with frothy milk
added, often sprinkled with powdered chocolate
vino, bianco o rosso wine, white or red
acqua minerale, naturale o gassata (bottled) mineral water,
still or ﬁzzy
2
Unit 1: Buongiorno, un caffè per favore
tè, con latte o con limone tea, with milk or with lemon
tè freddo iced tea, a refreshing drink in hot weather
birra beer
succo di frutta fruit juice
succo di pera, di mela, di arancia pear, apple, orange juice
spremuta di arancia, limone, pompelmo juice of a freshly
squeezed orange, lemon or grapefruit
You can also order un panino, a bread roll with a ﬁlling, for example
ham, egg or mozzarella and tomato; un toast, a toasted ham and
cheese sandwich; or, for the sweet-toothed, una pasta ‘a pastry’, or
una brioche ‘a brioche’ or un gelato ‘an ice cream’.
Dialogue 1
If you have the recording, for this and all dialogues, see if you can
understand without looking at the book. Good practice for real life
situations! Answer the question below. You may need to listen
more than once but persevere.
Al bar
A group of friends order drinks.
• Among the drinks ordered are some not explained above. Can
you pick them out and guess what they are?
CAMERIERE:
PAOLO:
ANNA:
TOMMASO:
MARISA:
FILIPPO:
CAMERIERE:
Buongiorno. Prego.
Una birra, per favore.
Per me, un caffè.
Un vino bianco.
Un’aranciata.
Una Coca-Cola.
Una birra, un caffè, un vino bianco, un’aranciata e
una Coca-Cola. Va bene.
The drinks not explained were un’aranciata ‘an orangeade (ﬁzzy)’
and una Coca-Cola. No prizes for guessing that! You will ﬁnd
answers to questions and exercises in the ‘Key to exercises’ at the
back of the book.
Unit 1: Good morning, a coffee please
3
Vocabulary notes
prego lit. ‘I pray, I beg’. Here an invitation to order. Prego is also used
to reply when someone thanks you for something: ‘don’t mention it,
not at all, you’re welcome’.
per favore ‘please’
per me ‘for me’
va bene ‘ﬁne, OK’. Va bene is used not just in casual speech, like OK.
It is acceptable in a formal context too.
Language point
Introducing Italian nouns and indeﬁnite
articles
Italian nouns are either masculine or feminine. This is sometimes
related to sex, in the cases of people or animals for example, but
not always. The word for ‘a, an’ is un with a masculine noun and
una with a feminine noun.
Masculine
un







vino
caffè
gelato
succo di frutta
panino
tè
toast
Feminine
una







birra
aranciata
spremuta
pasta
brioche
Coca-Cola
Note: When una comes before a noun beginning with a vowel, such
as acqua, it is usual to drop the a of una and just say un’. When
speaking, it comes naturally to run one vowel into another. When
writing this, you put an apostrophe (’) to show something has been
left out: un’aranciata, un’acqua minerale.
un, una also mean ‘one’. When the word ‘one’ is not used with
a noun, the masculine form is uno. See below, p. 6.
Many masculine Italian nouns end in -o, and many feminine
nouns end in -a. This makes it easy to guess the gender of a noun
4
Unit 1: Buongiorno, un caffè per favore
in very many cases. In the above list there are some foreign words
adopted by Italian which do not ﬁt this pattern: caffè, Coca-Cola,
tè, toast and brioche. Mostly foreign words adopted into Italian
are masculine. Brioche and Coca-Cola, which are feminine, are
exceptions. Try to learn the gender of a noun at the same time as
learning the noun.
Cultural point
Many Italians like to breakfast in a bar on their way to work. This
is not just to save time, but they will tell you they prefer the coffee
from the espresso machines in the bar. In most bars, particularly
in cities, you go to the cash desk ﬁrst and say what you want. You
pay and are given a receipt (scontrino), which you then give to the
barman, repeating your order. It is usual to stand at the bar with
your drink. If you sit down, you get service at the table and pay
extra – sometimes double. So think whether you want to sit and
relax for some time, or whether in fact you just want a quick drink.
Dialogue 2
Prima colazione
It’s the early morning rush hour in a busy bar. Maria and Piera
pop in for breakfast. Maria ﬁrst goes to the cash desk to pay.
1 What do Piera and Maria order to eat?
2 Do they each have the same drink?
CASSIERE:
MARIA:
PIERA:
CASSIERE:
MARIA:
CASSIERE:
Desidera?
Per me un cappuccino e una brioche.
E per me un caffè e una pasta.
4 euro.
Ecco.
Ecco lo scontrino.
Maria and Piera go to the bar.
MARIA:
BARISTA:
MARIA:
Scusi!
Sì, signorina. Mi dica.
Un cappuccino e una brioche, per favore.
Unit 1: Good morning, a coffee please
BARISTA:
PIERA:
BARISTA:
(to her friend) E Lei?
Per me un caffè e una pasta.
Un cappuccino e un caffè. Va bene.
Maria and Piera help themselves to the brioche and the pasta in
the display case on the counter.
Vocabulary notes
prima colazione ‘breakfast’
desidera? lit. ‘you desire?’. The cashier is asking what Maria wants.
ecco ‘here you are’; also ‘here is/here are, there is/there are’ (pointing
something out)
scusi ‘excuse me’. In a busy bar, use scusi or mi scusi to catch the
barman’s attention; another way is senta, literally ‘listen’.
mi dica (often just dica) lit. ‘tell me’. The barman is indicating that he
is ready to listen to the order. Compare with desidera and in the
previous conversation prego.
Lei ‘you’ (formal)
una pasta ‘a pastry’. pasta is also, of course, the generic word for all
the various types of spaghetti, macaroni etc.
5
6
Unit 1: Buongiorno, un caffè per favore
Language points
Prices
Italy adopted the euro, the European Union common currency,
from the start. It is divided into 100 centesimi. The euro symbol
is €. Note: euro does not change in the plural. So we have:
1 euro, 2 euro etc.
but
1 centesimo, 2 centesimi etc.
Numbers
To deal with prices you will need numbers, i numeri.
1
2
3
4
5
uno, una
due
tre
quattro
cinque
6
7
8
9
10
sei
sette
otto
nove
dieci
From these it is easy to move to the hundreds and thousands:
100 cento
1.000 mille
200 duecento
2.000 duemila
300 trecento
3.000 tremila
Note: mille has a plural form mila but cento does not change in
the plural. You will notice that the thousands are marked by a full
stop as in 10.000 and not by a comma (English ‘10,000’). A comma
is used where English uses the decimal point: virgola = ‘comma’,
so 2,5 is said due virgola cinque ‘2.5, two point ﬁve’.
For prices you will need the numbers between 20 and 99, which
are plain sailing:
20
30
40
50
venti
trenta
quaranta
cinquanta
60
70
80
90
sessanta
settanta
ottanta
novanta
And the following should serve to show the pattern of the numbers
in between:
21
22
ventuno
ventidue
31
32
trentuno
trentadue
Unit 1: Good morning, a coffee please
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
ventitrè
ventiquattro
venticinque
ventisei
ventisette
ventotto
ventinove
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
trentatrè
trentaquattro
trentacinque
trentasei
trentasette
trentotto
trentanove
Note: The ﬁnal vowel is i for venti and a for trenta and all the
others; it is dropped when the word is combined with uno and otto,
e.g. settantuno.
Reminder: This applies only to the numbers 21 to 98. It does
not apply to cento, centouno etc.
The accent on ventitrè etc. is to indicate the stress.
More about indeﬁnite articles
Can you guess whether the word scontrino is masculine or feminine? Like most nouns ending in -o it is masculine. However, ‘a till
receipt’ is uno scontrino. As you will perhaps know from listening
to Italians speaking English, the Italian language avoids clusters of
consonants and Italians ﬁnd them difﬁcult in English. The combination n + s + c is avoided by inserting an o: uno scontrino.
This applies to other masculine words beginning with s + another
consonant. For example the English word ‘sport’ has been adopted
into Italian. Like most foreign words used in Italian it is . . .? Yes,
masculine. So you say uno sport.
The problem does not arise with feminine nouns because there
is already the vowel -a in una; e.g. una spremuta.
Exercise 1
You are a waiter with a long list of drinks to get for a large group
at a table on the terrace outside in the square. Here is the list, but
the word for ‘a’ has been left out. Recite the list to the barman,
using the appropriate word for ‘a’.
____ vino rosso ____ gelato ____ birra ____ caffè
____ acqua minerale ____ spremuta ____ succo di frutta
____ tè ____ vino bianco ____ aranciata
When you have checked your answers, say the words out loud to
get used to the sound. It will also be helpful in memorizing them.
7
8
Unit 1: Buongiorno, un caffè per favore
Exercise 2
You are an Englishman who is on holiday in Italy with your family.
They decide that, since you have been learning Italian, you ought
to do the ordering for them. So, be the interpreter to the barman
in this bar. This means you have to put the words in italics into
Italian in the spaces provided.
BARISTA:
YOU:
YOUR WIFE:
YOU:
JANE:
YOU:
MARK:
YOU:
BARISTA:
YOU:
Buongiorno. Prego.
(to your wife) What would you like, darling?
(1) A white coffee.
(to the barman) _________________.
(to your daughter) And you, Jane?
(2) An orangeade.
(to the barman) _________________.
(to your son) Mark?
(3) A fresh orange drink.
(to the barman) _________________.
E per Lei, signore?
(for yourself order (4) a beer; you deserve it after
all that) _________________.
Exercise 3
Read the following numbers out loud and then write them out as
numerals.
1
3
5
7
9
sette
quattrocento
duemilacinquecento
diecimila
cinquantacinque
2
4
6
8
10
nove
ottocentotre
milletrecento
seimilacento
settantanove
Exercise 4
Here are some travel tickets and receipts. Write down the price in
words and say it to yourself.
1
2
3
4
Train ticket: Firenze – Pisa Centrale.
Bus ticket.
Books at the airport bookshop (Berretta SRL).
The hat bought at Lorenzini in Cortona?
Unit 1: Good morning, a coffee please
5 Two coffees at the Bar la Posta. How much was each?
6 Meat at the Macelleria Jacomoni.
You may have noticed that the butcher’s receipt also shows the
total in lire and gives the value of a euro. Doubtless the till was
programmed to help customers at the time of the changeover.
Greetings and courtesies (1)
As in English, the greeting you use depends on the time of day
and who you are talking to. buongiorno is the equivalent of both
9
10
Unit 1: Buongiorno, un caffè per favore
‘good morning’ and ‘good afternoon’. It is used in any formal situation: in a shop, a hotel, in a bank, greeting someone you do not
know well, greeting colleagues in the morning etc.
Dialogue 3
Un appuntamento con il signor Rossi
Angela Smith has an appointment to see signor Rossi. She goes into
the outer ofﬁce, where the secretary greets her.
1 What does the secretary invite Mrs Smith to do?
2 What words does Mr Rossi use to invite Mrs Smith to sit
down?
SEGRETARIA:
SMITH:
SEGRETARIA:
Buongiorno, signora. Mi dica.
Buongiorno, signorina. Sono Angela Smith.
Ah, signora Smith, buongiorno. Un attimo, prego.
Si accomodi.
(The secretary disappears into the inner ofﬁce and a moment later
Mr Rossi comes out to Mrs Smith.)
ROSSI:
SMITH:
ROSSI:
SMITH:
Buongiorno, signora Smith. Venga, venga. (He
motions to Mrs Smith to go into his ofﬁce.)
Buongiorno, signor Rossi.
S’accomodi, prego. (He indicates a chair for Mrs
Smith.) Come va?
Bene, grazie. E Lei?
Vocabulary
sono
un attimo
s’accomodi, si accomodi
prego
venga
come va?
bene grazie, e Lei?
I am
just a moment
sit down, make yourself comfortable
here please, do (sit down)
come this way (lit. come)
how are you?
well thanks, and you?
signor (abbr. to sig.)
signora (abbr. to sig.ra)
signorina (abbr. to sig.na)
Mr
Mrs
Miss
Unit 1: Good morning, a coffee please
It is usual not to capitalize these titles. As yet, there is no Italian
equivalent to ‘Ms’. Italian women continue ofﬁcially to use their
maiden name after marriage, although socially they may use their
husband’s name.
When you do not know a person’s name, it is usual to refer to
them as:
signore
signora
signorina
e.g. Scusi, signora . . .
Note that the word signore has an -e on the end when it is used
without the name, i.e. it becomes three syllables. In practice,
too, the choice of signora or signorina depends partly on the age
of the lady although signorina is not used a great deal. signora is
preferred.
Dialogue 4
Un incontro per la strada
Mrs Martini meets her son’s school teacher in the street. Her son,
Marco, is at home with a cold.
• Why is the conversation a rather short one?
INSEGNANTE:
SIG.RA MARTINI:
INSEGNANTE:
SIG.RA MARTINI:
INSEGNANTE:
SIG.RA MARTINI:
INSEGNANTE:
SIG.RA
MARTINI:
Buongiorno, signora. Come va?
Buongiorno, professore. Bene grazie, e Lei?
Bene grazie. E Marco?
Marco sta male. Ha un raffreddore.
Mi dispiace, signora. E Suo marito?
Sta bene, grazie. Lavora molto.
Mi scusi, devo andare. ArrivederLa a presto.
Auguri a Marco e saluti a Suo marito.
ArrivederLa, professore. Buongiorno.
Vocabulary
insegnante
Lei
Marco sta male
teacher
you (formal form)
Marco is ill
11
12
Unit 1: Buongiorno, un caffè per favore
ha un raffreddore
mi dispiace
e Suo marito?
sta bene
grazie
lavora molto
mi scusi
devo andare
a presto
auguri
saluti
he has a cold
I am sorry, lit. ‘it displeases me’. Expressing regret
about something unpleasant or unfortunate. It is
slightly different from mi scusi (see below).
and your husband?
he’s well
thank you
he is working hard (molto = a lot)
I am sorry, I apologize, excuse me
(mi is often omitted)
I have to go
see you soon
best wishes
greetings, say ‘hello’ to
Greetings and courtesies (2)
arrivederLa is a very formal way of saying ‘goodbye’. It is often
used by shopkeepers, bank clerks etc. Less formal is arrivederci.
It is also very common, when saying goodbye in formal conversations, to add buongiorno too, as Mrs Martini does. After midafternoon, people often use buonasera (lit. ‘good evening’) both
to open the conversation and to close it. buonanotte means ‘goodnight’ and is used to say goodbye at night, really wishing someone
a good night’s sleep.
Mrs Martini’s relationship with her son’s teacher is formal so
she calls him professore (‘teacher’). It is usual to use titles like
this when talking to professional people (e.g. avvocato, dottore,
ingegnere).
Look at Dialogue 5 to ﬁnd out what you say when you are
greeting friends.
Dialogue 5
Ciao, Gianni
PAOLO:
GIANNI:
PAOLO:
GIANNI:
Ciao, Gianni. Come va?
Oh, ciao Paolo.
Tutto bene?
Sì, grazie, e tu?
Unit 1: Good morning, a coffee please
PAOLO:
13
Sì, tutto bene. Mi dispiace, devo scappare. Ciao. A
presto.
Ciao.
GIANNI:
Vocabulary
tutto bene?
scappare
Is everything all right? (lit. ‘all well?’)
to run away (devo scappare is often used colloquially
instead of devo andare)
Greetings and courtesies (3)
You say ciao both when you meet a friend and to say goodbye to
him/her. You don’t say Lei to a friend, you use tu. You also use
tu when talking to children, family and colleagues. These days,
Italians on the whole prefer to use tu once they get to know you
or if they are working with you. It is similar to using ﬁrst names.
Language point
Personal pronouns and verbs
You have now met the word Lei several times. By convention it
is written with a capital L although this convention is not always
observed nowadays. It should be used in formal letter-writing.
You have also met tu. ‘I’ is io. You may have noticed that after
per (a preposition) you have a different form.
Pronoun subject with verb
io
tu
Lei
I
you (familiar)
you (formal)
Pronoun after preposition
per



me
te
Lei
for



me
you
you
Personal pronouns as subjects of a verb (‘I, you, he, we’ etc.) are
usually not expressed in Italian as it is generally clear from the
form of the verb who or what the subject of the verb is. For
example, Angela Smith said Sono Angela Smith. She would only
have said Io sono Angela Smith if she had been wanting to stress
the ‘I’.
14
Unit 1: Buongiorno, un caffè per favore
The verb essere ‘to be’ is irregular in Italian. Here are the forms
for the singular:
(io) sono
(tu) sei
(Lei) è
I am
you are (familiar)
you are (formal)
Since the forms are different from each other, the subject pronoun
is unnecessary, which is why it is given in brackets.
The present singular of avere ‘to have’ is:
(io) ho
(tu) hai
(Lei) ha
I have
you have (familiar)
you have (formal)
Note: The h is silent. This verb provides the only cases in Italian
of an initial h.
Exercise 5
Rewrite this short conversation between two friends as an exchange
between two people whose relationship is formal, Sig. Rossi and
Avv. Bruni.
GIORGIO:
MARCO:
GIORGIO:
MARCO:
Ciao, Marco, come va?
Bene, grazie. E tu?
Bene. Devo andare. Ciao.
Ciao.
Exercise 6
Look back over the dialogues and pick out the verbs used without
subject pronouns. (Note: scusi and mi dica are verbs in the
command (imperative) form and would never have a pronoun with
them. You are looking for other verbs.) Consult the ‘Key to exercises’ to see if you found them successfully.
Reading
Bar famosi
Read the passage and try to answer the questions. It is not necessary
to understand every word. (Warning: These bars are expensive!)
Unit 1: Good morning, a coffee please
1 When did Florian’s open?
2 What are the ingredients of the aperitif that is the speciality of
Harry’s Bar?
3 If you were hungry would it be a good place to go?
4 What is the name of its owner?
In Piazza San Marco a Venezia c’è un bar antico e famoso: il
Florian. Esiste dal 1720. All’interno, c’è un senso di intimità nelle
sale di stile ’700. Fuori ci sono numerosi tavolini proprio in Piazza
San Marco, con un’orchestrina che suona per i clienti. E’ bello
sedersi lì e guardare la piazza famosa e la gente che passa.
Un altro bar famoso a Venezia è l’Harry’s Bar. E’ un bar molto
elegante. Offre naturalmente caffè, vino, whisky e così via, ma
anche un aperitivo famoso, ‘il Bellini’, vino bianco frizzante con
succo di pesca. Harry’s è un bar ma è anche un ristorante molto
buono. L’Harry’s Bar era il locale preferito di Hemingway e ancora
oggi è frequentato da persone famose, attori, scrittori e così via. Il
proprietario, Arrigo Cipriani, è anche lui un personaggio famoso
a Venezia.
Vocabulary notes
stile ’700 ‘eighteenth-century style’, the style of the years from 1700 to
1799. It is usual in Italian to refer to a century this way. The
twentieth century is the ’900 – Il novecento (an abbreviation for
millenovecento); as yet nothing similar has developed for the twentyﬁrst century.
la gente ‘people’. La gente is singular, even though it refers to an idea
that seems plural.
frizzante ‘sparkling’ (of wine)
pesca ‘peach’
Exercise 7
As a revision exercise, go over the unit again and make a list of
all the words used as greetings and courtesies in the various
dialogues. Make sure you understand them and try to learn them.
It is wise to revise when learning. To do Exercise 7 you have to
read this unit again. This will help you remember it. It would also
be helpful to listen to the recording again. And, very importantly,
do this again after each unit. Gradually things, which at ﬁrst seemed
difﬁcult or strange, fall into place and become simple. Auguri!
15
2 Mi chiamo Harry,
sono americano,
e Lei?
My name’s Harry, I’m American,
and you?
In this unit you will learn about:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Giving information about yourself
Asking others for information about themselves
Adjectives, singular
More about nouns, those ending in -e
Verbs in the present tense, singular, ﬁrst group
(inﬁnitive ending in -are)
Saying you like something/like doing something: mi piace
Saying you have to do something: dovere
Saying what you do for a living
Talking about other people; lui, lei; and the form for formal
‘you’, Lei
Dialogue 1
Sono americano, e Lei?
An American businessman is reading the ‘International Herald
Tribune’ as he breakfasts in a hotel in Bologna. An Italian, sitting
at the next table, is watching him and eventually leans over.
1 Where is the American’s home?
2 And the Italian’s?
3 What explanation does the American give for his good
Italian?
Unit 2: My name’s Harry, I’m American, and you?
4 What seems to be the reason for the Italian’s interest in
the US?
5 Is the Italian pleased to be in Bologna?
ITALIANO:
AMERICANO:
ITALIANO:
AMERICANO:
ITALIANO:
AMERICANO:
ITALIANO:
Mi scusi, signore. Buongiorno. Lei è americano?
Buongiorno. Sì, sono americano. Mi chiamo Harry
McNamara. Abito a Boston. E Lei?
Io sono italiano. Mi chiamo Pietro Mussi. Sono
romano, di Roma. Lei parla molto bene l’italiano.
Grazie. Mia madre è italiana. E’ siciliana. E’ di
Siracusa.
Ah, capisco. Mio fratello abita in America. Abita
a Los Angeles. Mi piace molto l’America. E’ un
paese simpatico e interessante. Lei è in Italia in
vacanza o per lavoro?
Sono qui per lavoro. E Lei? E’ a Bologna per
lavoro?
Sì, sono qui per lavoro. Vengo spesso a Bologna.
Mi piace. E’ una città simpatica e interessante. Ora
Bologna: Piazza Maggiore and the Palazzo del Podestà. Courtesy
EPT Emilia Romagna.
17
18
Unit 2: Mi chiamo Harry, sono americano, e Lei?
AMERICANO:
ITALIANO:
mi scusi ma devo andare. Arrivederci a stasera,
forse?
Sì, sono qui per una settimana. A stasera.
Arrivederci. Buona giornata.
Vocabulary
mi chiamo
abito
Lei parla molto
bene l’italiano
mia madre
capisco
mio fratello
mi piace
in vacanza
per lavoro
vengo spesso
simpatico
a stasera
forse
una settimana
buona giornata
my name is (lit. ‘I call myself’)
I live
you speak Italian very well
my mother
I understand
my brother
I like
on holiday
for work
I often come
nice, friendly (There is no exact translation.
When you say a person or a place is simpatico
it means you like them.)
see you this evening
perhaps
a week
have a nice day
Language point
Adjectives
In Italian adjectives ‘agree with the noun they qualify’; that is, if
the noun is masculine, the adjective must be in the masculine form;
if the noun is feminine, the adjective must be in the feminine form.
Look back over Dialogue 1. Underline or highlight all the adjectives you can ﬁnd or write them on a piece of paper.
You probably picked out: americano, italiano, romano, italiana,
siciliana, simpatico, interessante.
Look to see which nouns they qualify. You have two men talking
who say: io sono americano; io sono italiano. But Harry says his
mother is italiana, siciliana.
Unit 2: My name’s Harry, I’m American, and you?
You also had adjectives used to qualify the words paese (m.)
simpatico, interessante and città (f.) simpatica, interessante.
Adjectives are of two types.
1 The ﬁrst type ends in -o/-a, e.g. italiano/italiana, americano/
americana. A man is americano, a woman is americana; i.e. the
-o is the masculine ending and the -a is the feminine ending.
Many adjectives for nationality are of this sort. Note: They are
written with a small letter.
Country
Australia
Austria
Brasile
Germania
Gran Bretagna
Messico
Nigeria
Spagna
Svizzera
Sud Africa
Adjective
australiano/a
austriaco/a
brasiliano/a
tedesco/a
britannico/a
messicano/a
nigeriano/a
spagnolo/a
svizzero/a
sudafricano/a
This applies not to only adjectives of nationality, for example:
un paese è simpatico, una città è simpatica.
2 The second group of adjectives in Italian ends in -e, for example
interessante. Many adjectives of nationality, for instance, end
in -e:
Country
Adjective
Inghilterra
Irlanda
Galles
Ghana
Scozia
Canada
Nuova Zelanda
Francia
Giappone
Olanda
inglese
irlandese
gallese
ghanese
scozzese
canadese
neozelandese
francese
giapponese
olandese (Paesi Bassi =
‘the Netherlands’)
19
20
Unit 2: Mi chiamo Harry, sono americano, e Lei?
Note: Many Italians don’t understand the difference between
British and English. Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish should try
not to feel too offended when Italians assume they are English.
Americans (and others) should note that America can be America,
but also Stati Uniti ‘United States’ – see Unit 5. The adjective
statunitense, derived from Stati Uniti, is sometimes heard. The
usual word is americano.
Now, here’s some good news: adjectives that end in an -e do
not have separate masculine and feminine forms. A man and a
woman will both say:
sono



inglese
francese
canadese
And you can say:
è
{
un paese
una città
interessante
Talking of the USA:
è un paese (m.) simpatico e interessante
Talking of Bologna:
è una città (f.) simpatica e interessante
Note: Adjectives usually follow the noun in Italian.
Exercise 1
Say in Italian what nationality you think the following people
might be.
Example: Luciano Pavarotti.
Answer: Luciano Pavarotti è italiano.
1 Sean Connery
2 Michael Schumacher
3 Koﬁ Annan
4 Tiger Woods
5 Arnold Schwarzenegger
6 Meryl Streep
Say in Italian which countries you think these cities belong to.
Example: Los Angeles.
Answer: Los Angeles è una città americana.
Unit 2: My name’s Harry, I’m American, and you?
7 Roma
8 New York
9 Rio de Janeiro
10 Toronto
11 Sydney
12 Tokyo
Language points
More about nouns: nouns ending
in -e
Nouns ending in -e, such as paese, madre, form the third big group
of nouns in Italian. The ﬁrst two are those that end in -o (masculine) and those that end in -a (feminine). Some nouns in the third
group are masculine and some are feminine. Where they relate to
people it is easy to guess which gender they are: madre ‘mother’
is feminine; padre ‘father’ is masculine.
But in most cases you have to learn the gender. For example,
paese is masculine. It helps to learn the noun with an adjective of
the -o/-a type (which shows gender), e.g. un paese simpatico.
More about verbs
In the text you met the following verbs in the ﬁrst person singular:
io sono
mi chiamo
abito
vengo
devo
io was used when the Italian said io sono italiano because the
Italian man was contrasting his nationality with the American’s. In
English we would stress the ‘I’ using our voice. After the ﬁrst verb
it is no longer necessary for him to use io because the ending of
the verb tells us who the subject is. Can you tell which verb ending
indicates io? It is -o.
When you look up a verb in the dictionary, you will ﬁnd the
inﬁnitive form. For very many Italian verbs the inﬁnitive will end
in the letters -are. Traditionally verbs are grouped according to
their inﬁnitive ending and those ending in -are form the ﬁrst group
(group 1 verbs). There are three groups in all. In the text you met
some verbs of the ﬁrst group in the ﬁrst person, that is to say in
the ‘I’ form:
abitare
abito
parlare
parlo
21
22
Unit 2: Mi chiamo Harry, sono americano, e Lei?
Here are some more:
lavorare
lavoro
studiare
studio
telefonare
telefono
fumare
fumo
ballare
ballo
cantare
canto
Note the ﬁrst person forms all end in -o. This is the ﬁrst person
marker. You can possibly guess at the meaning of them. If not,
check in the Glossary.
The tu form of verbs always end in -i:
lavori
studi
telefoni
fumi
balli
canti
For -are verbs only, the Lei form ends in -a. So you get:
parlare
(io) parlo
(tu) parli
(Lei) parla
I speak, I am speaking
you speak, you are speaking (familiar)
you speak, you are speaking (formal)
Note: The present tense in Italian can translate both the English
simple present (‘I speak’) and the English present continuous (‘I
am speaking’). So if the forms seem difﬁcult, console yourself with
the knowledge that the one tense will do two jobs for you.
You also met some irregular verbs: sono, vengo, devo, and one
of a different pattern from the -are type. capisco. Their inﬁnitives
are:
sono
vengo
devo
capisco
essere
venire
dovere
capire
to
to
to
to
be
come
have to, must
understand
In Unit 1, you met the forms of essere.
There was another verb in Dialogue 1: mi chiamo, lit. ‘I call
myself’. It is used when in English we would say ‘my name is . . .’
or ‘I’m called . . .’. chiamare is also an -are verb. For the time being,
however, don’t worry about mi chiamo. chiamo by itself means ‘I
call, I am calling’. We will come back to this later.
Exercise 2
Look at the drawings on the facing page and match each with one
of the following verbs.
canta
fuma
lavora
telefona
balla
studia
Unit 2: My name’s Harry, I’m American, and you?
23
Lucia
Paolo
Chiara
Anna
Marco
Luigi
Imagine you are doing each of these things. How would you say
each one?
Example: (io) canto
Exercise 3
Look back at Dialogue 1 and work out how you would say the
following in Italian.
1
2
3
4
5
6
My name is Charlie Hardcastle.
I am South African.
I live in Johannesburg.
I speak English and French.
My mother is French, from Bordeaux.
Bordeaux is a nice, friendly city.
24
Unit 2: Mi chiamo Harry, sono americano, e Lei?
mi piace ‘I like’
mi piace means, literally, ‘it is pleasing to me’; it is the everyday
way of saying ‘I like’:
Mi piace



la pizza
Roma
la musica
or
Mi piace



parlare italiano
ballare
studiare
mi piace can be followed by: (1) a noun (‘I like pizza’); or (2) the
inﬁnitive of a verb (‘I like speaking Italian/to speak Italian’). You
have also met mi dispiace, which literally means ‘it is displeasing
to me’, but we would normally say ‘I am sorry’. It is not the opposite of mi piace.
dovere ‘to have to do something’
dovere is followed by an inﬁnitive, for example: devo andare, devo
scappare.
Exercise 4
How would you say you like the following?
1 working (to work)
2 New York
3 singing
4 Rome
5 speaking Italian
6 Luciano Pavarotti
Exercise 5
How would you say you have to do the following?
1 to telephone
2 to work
3 to come
4 to study
Reading 1
Mi chiamo Paolo Bianchi
An Italian doctor is talking about himself.
1 What is the doctor’s name?
2 Where does he come from?
Unit 2: My name’s Harry, I’m American, and you?
3
4
5
6
7
Where does he live?
Where does he work?
Can you say something about what he looks like?
Is he married?
What does he like doing in his leisure time?
Mi chiamo Paolo Bianchi. Sono italiano. Sono di Milano. Sono alto
e biondo. Sono medico e lavoro in un ospedale a Milano.
Naturalmente abito a Milano. Sono sposato e ho due ﬁgli. Mia
moglie si chiama Luisa. E’ insegnante. Mi piace giocare a tennis,
mi piace anche la musica classica.
Vocabulary
alto
sposato
moglie
tall, high
married
wife
biondo
ﬁglio
fair-haired
son (ﬁgli (pl.) can mean ‘sons’
or ‘sons and daughters’)
You probably found you could get quite a lot of the information
you were asked for. The answers are printed in the ‘Key to exercises’.
Language point
Saying what you do for a living
Paolo says sono medico. When you say what your job is, the word
for the occupation functions as an adjective and so ‘a’ is usually
omitted. You will also hear: sono un medico. Here are some other
jobs:
albergatore/trice
casalinga
dentista
ingegnere
segretario/a
uomo d’affari
hotelier
housewife/
homemaker
dentist
engineer
secretary
businessman
avvocato/tessa lawyer
commesso/a
shop assistant,
cuoco/a
infermiere/a
insegnante
studente/tessa
cook
nurse
teacher
student
Note: Some of these words have a masculine and feminine form
as indicated. Nouns ending in -ista are masculine or feminine
25
26
Unit 2: Mi chiamo Harry, sono americano, e Lei?
according to the sex of the person described. There are many
women lawyers and doctors in Italy but it is not usual to make a
feminine form for the words avvocato and medico. Indeed this is
a ﬁeld in which some women have strong views and feel the feminine form belittles them. As for the feminine for uomo d’affari, a
businesswoman would call herself . . . well, it depends on the
precise nature of her work. She might be una donna-manager, or
simply manager (yes, using the English word). If she actually owns
a company/companies she could perhaps be donna d’affari, but to
some people it sounds odd.
Exercise 6
Here is another person’s description of himself, but the verbs have
been left out. Fill in the gaps using the verbs listed (you may use
a verb more than once).
abito
sono
lavoro
Mi chiamo Silvio, Silvio Mancini. (1) _____ italiano. (2) _____ di
Roma. Ma (3) _____ a Firenze. (4) _____ in una banca a Firenze.
(5) _____ cassiere. Mi piace il mio lavoro.
Exercise 7
You have just met Giorgio at a reception and he gives you a short
portrait of himself. Complete what Giorgio says using the words
below (use each word once only).
scusi
chiamo
madre
mi
devo
abito
sportivo
ospedale
lavoro
giocare
Mi _____ Giorgio. Sono italiano. _____ a Napoli. Mia _____ abita
a Roma con mio fratello. Sono medico in un _____ a Napoli. Mi
piace il mio _____. Sono _____ e mi piace _____ a golf e a tennis.
Mi _____; _____ scappare. _____ dispiace. Arrivederci.
In these passages you met some more adjectives: sposato, alto,
biondo. You will notice these adjectives all end in -o. Keep an eye
open to see what happens when Paolo’s wife, Luisa, talks about
herself. Don’t forget to listen to the recordings as you read.
Unit 2: My name’s Harry, I’m American, and you?
Reading 2
Mi chiamo Luisa Lucchini
Paolo’s wife is talking about herself.
1 What does Luisa teach?
2 Does she like sports?
3 Why does she like Milan?
Mi chiamo Luisa, Luisa Lucchini. Sono italiana. Sono bionda, e
sono alta. Sono di Bologna ma abito e lavoro a Milano. Sono insegnante. Lavoro in un liceo e insegno storia e geograﬁa. Sono sposata
e ho due ﬁgli. Mio marito si chiama Paolo. E’ medico e lavora in
un ospedale qui a Milano. Io sono sportiva. Mi piace giocare a
tennis e a golf. Amo la musica lirica e quando ho tempo mi piace
andare alla Scala. Mi piace Milano. E’ una città grande, vivace,
interessante e stimolante.
Vocabulary
un liceo
amo
la musica lirica
a high school, upper secondary school
I love
opera
Notice that Luisa says:
sono



italiana
bionda
alta
Exercise 8
Match the nouns on the left with the adjectives on the right. Take
into account sense and gender (some adjectives can go with more
than one word). How many reasonable and grammatically correct
combinations can you make?
una birra
un signore
un vino
una signora
vivace
australiana
romana
alto
27
28
Unit 2: Mi chiamo Harry, sono americano, e Lei?
un lavoro
un paese
una madre
un marito
una città
una signorina
un professore
un fratello
americano
sportivo
interessante
simpatico
bionda
americano
sposato
bianco
You have now learned to give other people some simple, basic
information about yourself. It is also useful to be able to do the
same about other people.
Dialogue 2
Suo marito, come si chiama?
Luisa Lucchini, the Milanese teacher, is talking to a Canadian tourist
in the hotel where they are both spending their holiday. They have
talked about themselves. Now they are talking about their husbands.
1 What new piece of information do you learn about Paolo’s
leisure activities?
2 Is the Canadian woman’s husband Canadian too?
3 What is his job?
4 Does he enjoy sports?
5 Where do the couple live?
CANADESE:
LUISA:
CANADESE:
LUISA:
CANADESE:
LUISA:
CANADESE:
LUISA:
CANADESE:
E Suo marito, come si chiama?
Si chiama Paolo.
Che lavoro fa?
E’ medico. Lavora in un ospedale a Milano.
E come passa il suo tempo libero?
E’ molto sportivo. Gioca a tennis e ama anche il golf.
Gli piace anche la musica classica. Suona il
pianoforte. E’ molto bravo. Spesso la sera ascolta
musica. E Suo marito, come si chiama?
Si chiama Bill. Non è canadese, è scozzese.
Che lavoro fa?
Lavora in una banca a Toronto. E’ commercialista.
La banca è una banca inglese.
Unit 2: My name’s Harry, I’m American, and you?
LUISA:
CANADESE:
LUISA:
CANADESE:
E’ sportivo, ama lo sport?
No, non è sportivo. Invece è appassionato per il faida-te.
Oh, che bello!
Dipende!
Vocabulary
che lavoro fa?
commercialista
ascolta
oh, che bello!
what’s his job?
accountant, ﬁnancial adviser (has a degree in
economics and business studies)
he listens to
il fai-da-te
do-it-yourself
oh, how lovely! dipende
it depends
Language points
Talking about other people – third
person singular of -are verbs; and the
formal ‘you’
Did you notice the verbs used by Luisa and the Canadian woman
to talk about their husbands? They were:
si chiama fa lavora passa è gioca ama suona ascolta
These forms are, as you will realize, the same as those for Lei, the
formal ‘you’. In fact, lei is also the word for ‘she’. ‘He’ is lui but
neither speaker used it. It wasn’t necessary, because it was quite
clear who they were referring to when they spoke.*
Cultural point
You may be puzzled by the statement that Lei is the formal ‘you’
and lei is also ‘she’. This use of Lei goes back to the days of deference when the people in positions of importance were addressed
in the third person rather than directly, for example, ‘your excellency’s wish is my command’. The initials SV or VS (for Signoria
Vostra, Vostra Signoria ‘your excellency, your lordship’) are still
* In this book we use Lei rather than lei to clarify that we are not talking about
‘she’ or ‘it’ but ‘you’ (formal).
29
30
Unit 2: Mi chiamo Harry, sono americano, e Lei?
occasionally to be found in formal invitations and bureaucratic
letters. Lei is, however, everyday usage for ‘you’ to people when
the relationship is not one of familiarity and you should use it in
preference to tu when in doubt. It is better to be too formal than
too familiar. It is used to men as well as to women, because of the
gender of Signoria. The confusion with ‘she’, often feared by
learners, is not the problem it at ﬁrst seems. The deferential origin
of the usage probably also accounts for the practice of writing Lei,
especially in formal letters, with a capital letter.
Present singular of -are verbs;
also essere
Now we can see the full singular pattern of an -are verb:
(io)
(tu)
(Lei)
(lui)
(lei)
parlo
parli
parla
parla
parla
Il signor Smith parla molto bene l’italiano.
And of essere:
(io)
(tu)
(Lei)
(lui)
(lei)
sono
sei
è
è
è
Exercise 9
Pretend to be the following people and talk about yourself.
1 A woman with the following attributes: you are Australian; tall
and blonde; married; and you work in Sydney.
2 You are a Canadian man and you are married. Your wife is
English. You live in Milan.
3 You are an Italian man. You are Sicilian, from Palermo. Your
name is Salvatore. You live in Bologna. You work in a bank.
You are married and your wife is Scottish. She is a teacher.
Unit 2: My name’s Harry, I’m American, and you?
How would you say the same things about someone else?
4 She is Australian; tall and blonde; married; and she works in
Sydney.
5 He is Canadian and he is married; his wife (sua moglie) is
English; he lives in Milan.
6 He is Italian; Sicilian, from Palermo; his name is Salvatore; he
lives in Bologna; and he works in a bank; he is married and his
wife is Scottish; she is a teacher.
Exercise 10
Try to describe yourself using the words you have met in this unit.
This exercise has no set answer, of course – it depends on you.
Also try to describe someone else – a friend or member of your
family.
31
3 In città
In town
In this unit you will learn about:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Finding your way around the sights
Asking for and understanding directions to speciﬁc places
The deﬁnite article, ‘the’
questo/a ‘this’
dove ‘where’; dov’è ‘where is . . .’
Asking questions
Negative sentences
Ordinal numbers
Present tense singular of second group verbs (inﬁnitive
ending in -ere)
Dialogue 1
A Perugia
Jack is visiting Perugia, a lively modern city but with roots going
back to the Etruscans, whose civilization preceded that of the
Romans in Italy. Maria is showing Jack a brochure containing a
plan of the city and pictures of some of the sights.
1 Can you guess what the Palazzo Comunale is used for?
2 Where do people like to stroll in the evening?
3 Why might you want to go to the garden at the end of Corso
Vannucci?
JACK:
MARIA:
JACK:
Che cos’è questo?
Questo è il Palazzo Comunale, il municipio. Si chiama
anche il Palazzo dei Priori.
E’ magniﬁco. E questo?
Unit 3: In town
Palazzo dei Priori and the Fontana Maggiore, Perugia.
Courtesy IAT Perugia.
MARIA:
JACK:
MARIA:
JACK:
MARIA:
JACK:
MARIA:
JACK:
MARIA:
E’ la cattedrale.
(Pointing to another photo) Questa è una fontana?
Sì. E’ la Fontana Maggiore. E’ l’opera di Nicola e
Giovanni Pisano.
E’ molto bella. E la via, come si chiama?
E’ Corso Vannucci. E’ molto importante per la città. La
sera la gente viene qui a fare la passeggiata. In fondo
c’è un giardino con un panorama molto bello sulla valle
e verso Assisi.
E questo?
Questo è l’Arco Etrusco.
E il museo famoso, dov’è?
La Galleria Nazionale? L’entrata è qui, in Corso
Vannucci.
Vocabulary notes
questo/a ‘this’
il municipio ‘the town hall’
il Palazzo dei Priori ‘the Palace of the Priors’. In the Middle Ages,
Perugia was a city state; the Priori were the elected ofﬁcers who
governed it.
33
34
Unit 3: In città
opera ‘work’ (produced by a creative artist)
la via ‘the street’
la sera ‘the evening’ (here, ‘in the evenings’)
c’è (ci è) ‘there is’
un panorama a view’. A number of nouns ending with -ma are
masculine. Hint: Learn it with an adjective that shows gender, e.g.
un panorama magniﬁco.
in fondo ‘at the far end, at the bottom’
verso ‘towards’
Cultural point
fare una passeggiata means ‘to go for a walk’, but in much of Italy
fare la passeggiata is not exercise: it is a social event. You walk up
and down the main street, stopping to chat to friends, looking at
everyone else and generally seeing what is going on. People of all
ages do this, so you will see both groups of young people and also
their parents. It means you will see your friends frequently and
news is passed on quickly!
Language points
The deﬁnite article
il for masculine nouns
la for feminine nouns
un palazzo
il palazzo
a palace
the palace
un giardino
il giardino
a garden
the garden
una fontana
la fontana
a fountain
the fountain
una via
la via
a street
the street
Note: For both masculine and feminine nouns beginning with a
vowel we use l’ for ‘the’.
un arco
l’arco
an arch
the arch
un’acqua minerale a water1
l’acqua
the water
1 You say this when ordering a glass of water; it is usual to order spring/mineral
water rather than ask for it from the tap.
Unit 3: In town
35
Note also:
uno scontrino a till receipt
lo scontrino
the till receipt
uno studente
lo studente
a student
the student
Words that have uno for ‘a’, have lo for ‘the’ (see Unit 1). This
also applies to nouns beginning with z, pronounced ‘ts’ or ‘ds’ e.g.
lo zucchero (‘sugar’).
questo/a
This can be a pronoun or an adjective. When it replaces (as a
pronoun) or describes (as an adjective) a feminine noun it becomes
questa.
Asking questions
Yes/no questions are made simply by using a rising intonation for
the last word:
Questa è una fontana.
Questa è una fontana?
This is a fountain.
Is this a fountain?
Harry è americano.
Harry è americano?
Harry is American.
Is Harry American?
Paolo lavora in un ospedale. Paolo works in a hospital.
Paolo lavora in un ospedale? Does Paolo work in a hospital?
Giorgio abita a Firenze.
Giorgio abita a Firenze?
Giorgio lives in Florence.
Does Giorgio live in Florence?
You do not need ‘do’ or ‘does’ as in English, nor the word order
change which English requires with the verb ‘to be’. Word order
is, however, more ﬂexible in Italian than in English, so you will
often hear in everyday speech:
E’ una fontana, questa?
E’ americano, Harry?
Lavora in un ospedale, Paolo?
Abita a Firenze, Giorgio?
The ﬁrst form (i.e. statement with voice raised at the end: Questa
è una fontana?) should be your model. The answer will normally
be either sì or no ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
36
Unit 3: In città
When asking a question in a way that seems to be expecting
conﬁrmation that the information in the question is correct, e.g.
‘You do work in a hospital, don’t you?’, simply tag on to the statement: vero? or (sometimes) non è vero?:
Lavori in un ospedale, vero?
Questa fontana si chiama la Fontana Maggiore, vero?
Information questions require a question word. The subject, if
expressed, follows the verb:
Come si chiama il medico?
What’s the doctor’s name?
(lit. ‘How does the doctor call himself?’)
Che cos’è questo?
What’s this?
Come va Suo marito?
How is your husband?
Question words met so far:
Come?
Come va?
Che . . . ?
Che lavoro fa?
Che cosa?
How?
How are you?
Che + noun means ‘which?, what?’
What is your job?
(lit. ‘What work do you do?’)
What? (often just cosa?)
Note: Una cosa means ‘a thing’; so che cosa is lit. ‘which, what
thing’.
Exercise 1
Look back at the dialogues in Unit 2. Make a list of the questions
you ﬁnd in them.
Exercise 2
On the facing page are pictures of some famous places in Italy.
For each one there is a question and the answer. Complete the
answer with the correct word for ‘the’. If you do not know what
the word means, it does not really matter because you can ﬁnd the
correct gender from the un, una in the question. Try guessing and
then check from the ‘Glossary’.
Unit 3: In town
37
1 The Doges’ Palace
in Venice.
2 The Ponte Vecchio in
Florence.
3 The Basilica
of San Pietro
in Rome.
4 The Leaning
Tower of
Pisa.
5 The Campanile by
Giotto in Florence.
38
Unit 3: In città
1 Questo è un palazzo?
Sì, è _____ Palazzo Ducale a Venezia.
2 Questo è un ponte?
Sì, è _____ Ponte Vecchio a Firenze.
3 Questa è una basilica?
Sì, è _____ Basilica di San Pietro a Roma.
4 Questa è una torre?
Sì, è _____ Torre Pendente di Pisa.
5 Questo è un campanile?
Sì, è _____ Campanile di Giotto a Firenze.
Cultural point
Technically the Leaning Tower of Pisa is a campanile, the bell
tower for the cathedral of Pisa, il duomo di Pisa. Cathedrals are
sometimes called cattedrale, more often duomo. The famous
Leaning Tower is part of a particularly lovely group of buildings,
the duomo, the campanile and the battistero (the baptistery of
the cathedral), all by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, who were also
responsible for the Fontana Maggiore in Perugia.
Vocabulary
More town vocabulary: the ﬁrst group is very easy to guess, but
use the ‘Glossary’ to check or if you cannot guess.
aeroporto
cinema (m.)
galleria
stazione (f.)
ufﬁcio postale
ambasciata
consolato
pizzeria
supermercato
banca
farmacia
ristorante (m.)
teatro
The following are more difﬁcult to guess:
albergo
cambio
chiesa
mercato
fermata dell’autobus
hotel
foreign currency exchange
church
market
bus stop
Unit 3: In town
39
Dialogue 2
C’è una banca qui vicino?
A tourist needs to change some money. He stops a passer-by.
1 What does the tourist ask for ﬁrst?
2 The passer-by suggests he goes to a foreign exchange bureau.
Why?
TURISTA:
PASSANTE:
TURISTA:
PASSANTE:
TURISTA:
PASSANTE:
TURISTA:
PASSANTE:
TURISTA:
PASSANTE:
TURISTA:
PASSANTE:
Scusi, c’è una banca qui vicino?
Una banca, sì. E’ in Piazza Garibaldi.
Dov’è Piazza Garibaldi? E’ lontano?
No, è qui vicino. Vede l’albergo Bristol? (pointing
down the road)
Sì.
Piazza Garibaldi è subito dopo, sulla sinistra.
Grazie. E’ aperta la banca a quest’ora?
Penso di no. Lei deve cambiare valuta o travellers
cheques?
Sì, travellers cheques.
C’è un ufﬁcio di cambio lì, sulla destra, subito dopo
la farmacia.
Oh, grazie. Buongiorno.
Prego. Buongiorno.
Vocabulary
vicino
lontano
qui
qui vicino
vede l’albergo?
lì
aperto
penso di no
valuta
subito
dopo
sulla sinistra
sulla destra
near
far
here
near here
do you see the hotel?
there
open
I think not, I don’t think so
currency
immediately, suddenly
after
on the left
on the right
40
Unit 3: In città
Exercise 3
Make the question you need in the following circumstances, using
a sentence on the pattern of: C’è una banca qui vicino?
1 You are hungry and want something to eat.
2 You have a headache and want to buy something for it.
3 It’s getting late and you realize you are going to have to spend
the night in this town.
4 You’re tired of walking and want to get a bus to your destination.
5 You need to do some food shopping.
Language point
Using dove and dov’è ‘where, where is’
You may need to look for a speciﬁc place, not a bank but the bank
you want to use. You will need to ask dov’è ‘where is’.
Note:
dove
dov’è (dove è)
stress the ﬁrst syllable
stress on the è
where
where is
Dialogue 3
Scusi, dov’è il consolato americano?
Our tourist has lost his passport and needs the consulate. He stops
another passer-by.
• Where is the American Consulate?
TURISTA:
PASSANTE:
TURISTA:
PASSANTE:
TURISTA:
PASSANTE:
Mi scusi, Lei sa dov’è il consolato americano?
Mi dispiace, non lo so. Ma c’è l’Azienda per il
Turismo in Via Mazzini. Provi a chiedere lì.
E dov’è Via Mazzini?
E’ la seconda via a destra. L’Azienda per il Turismo
è sulla sinistra.
Grazie. Buongiorno.
Prego. Buongiorno.
Unit 3: In town
41
Vocabulary
Lei sa
non lo so
provi a chiedere
do you know?
I don’t know (lit. ‘I don’t know it’)
try asking
Language points
Negative sentences
To make a sentence negative, put non before the verb:
Jane è americana.
Jane non è americana.
Jane is American.
Jane isn’t American.
Piero abita a Milano.
Piero non abita a Milano.
Piero lives in Milan.
Piero doesn’t live in Milan.
Mi piace New York.
Non mi piace New York.
I like New York.
I don’t like New York.
Capisco.
Non capisco.
I understand.
I don’t understand.
In the last dialogue you met non lo so. You can say non so but
Italians usually say:
lo so
I know (it)
non lo so I don’t know (it)
So is from sapere, an irregular verb.
Note: Do not confuse no (which means ‘no’) and non (which is
used with a verb to make a negative sentence).
Exercise 4
Vero o falso? Read the following statements and say whether they
are true or false.
1
2
3
4
5
New York non è in Irlanda.
Luciano Pavarotti non è biondo.
Roma non è una città interessante e bella.
Il Teatro alla Scala non è a Milano.
Assisi non è lontano da Perugia.
42
Unit 3: In città
Which of the following are true for you?
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Non sono americano/a.
Non abito in Italia.
Non sono sposato/a.
Non parlo francese.
Non lavoro in una banca.
Non mi piace il fai-da-te.
Per me, questo esercizio è molto difﬁcile.
Exercise 5
Someone is pestering you with questions. The answer to them all
is ‘no’. You feel a bit irritated by the onslaught so answer them,
stressing the ‘no’ answer by giving the full sentence in the negative. You may ﬁnd it helpful to look back to Unit 2 and check the
‘you’ and ‘I’ verb endings.
Example: Lei fuma?
Answer: No, non fumo.
1
2
3
4
5
Lei lavora qui?
Abita in questa città?
E’ qui in vacanza?
E’ americano/a?
Parla francese?
Ordinal numbers
You know the numbers 1 to 10 (Unit 1). Here are the corresponding ordinal numbers. The abbreviated way of writing each is
given in brackets.
ﬁrst
second
third
fourth
ﬁfth
sixth
seventh
eighth
ninth
tenth
primo
secondo
terzo
quarto
quinto
sesto
settimo
ottavo
nono
decimo
(1o)
(2o)
(3o)
(4o)
(5o)
(6o)
(7o)
(8o)
(9o)
(10o)
Unit 3: In town
43
After decimo, take off the ﬁnal vowel from a given number and
add: -esimo, for example:
twentieth
thirtieth
forty-ninth
(20o)
(30o)
(49o)
ventesimo
trentesimo
quarantanovesimo
Ordinal numbers are adjectives and agree with the noun they
refer to:
il primo giorno
la prima sera
the ﬁrst day
the ﬁrst evening
Directions for ﬁnding places
The general word for ‘street’ is strada. However, when streets are
named, they are usually called via, e.g. via Cavour. Strada Rosero
would be a name used in a rural area and would indicate where
the road leads to. Streets are often named after important historical ﬁgures, events or even dates. corso means a particularly
important street, viale (m.) a wide, tree-lined street. una piazza is
a square, un piazzale a large square.
Question: Dov’è la Banca Popolare?
è
qui
lì
destra
sinistra
sulla
it’s
here
there
on the
right
left
You may be told to take:
la
prima
seconda
a
destra
sinistra
the
ﬁrst
second
right
left
Often you will be told what you have to do (see Unit 1):
Lei deve prendere la seconda sulla sinistra.
You have to take the second on the left.
Lei deve girare a destra.
You have to turn right.
You may hear:
Prenda la quarta a sinistra.
Take the fourth left.
44
Unit 3: In città
Giri a destra qui e poi è sempre diritto.
Turn right here and then it’s straight on.
These last two forms are ‘commands’ (imperatives), such as dica,
scusi, provi. More about them soon.
Another way of posing a question is: Per la stazione, per favore?
If you want a supermarket, a bank etc., that is any one rather
than a speciﬁc one, you say:
C’è un supermercato/una banca qui vicino?
Vocabulary
Here is a summary of vocabulary for giving directions:
dov’è . . .
where is . . .
per . . .
(roughly) what is the way to . . .
a destra/sulla destra
to the right, on the right
a sinistra/sulla sinistra
to the left, on the left
poi
then, next
sempre dritto (or diritto)
straight on
in fondo
at the end, at the bottom
dopo (il cinema, il museo ecc.)
after (the cinema, the museum etc.)
prima di (prima della chiesa)
before (before the church)
accanto a (accanto al palazzo)
next to (next to the palace)
dietro
behind
davanti a
in front of
di fronte a
opposite
oltre
beyond
è lontano?
is it far?
vicino
near
è a 100 metri it’s 100 metres (100 yards approx.) away
è a 5 minuti
it’s 5 minutes away
a piedi
on foot
in macchina
by car
ﬁno a
as far as
il semaforo
the trafﬁc lights
Hint: When you are given directions, it is a good idea to repeat
the main points to the person who gave them, e.g. seconda a
sinistra, poi sulla destra. In this way you can check you have understood and it also helps you to memorize what was said.
Unit 3: In town
45
More verbs, present tense singular: verbs
with an inﬁnitive ending in -ere
You have already met the verbs ending in -are. A second group
have an inﬁnitive ending in -ere:
vedere (to see)
(io) vedo
(tu) vedi
(lui) vede
(lei)
prendere (to take)
(io) prendo
(tu) prendi
(lui) prende
(lei)
chiedere (to ask)
(io) chiedo
(tu) chiedi
(lui) chiede
(lei)
They differ very little from the -are verbs, however the third person
singular has -e where the ﬁrst group has -a. Other verbs you have
met that belong to this group are commonly used only in the third
person singular:
piacere
piace
dipendere
dipende
piacere ‘to be pleasing’ is not a regular verb, but few parts of it
are used frequently. Dovere ‘to have to’ is also an irregular verb
but it follows the -ere pattern for the present tense singular endings,
although the stem (the ﬁrst part) changes:
devo
devi
deve
One further point about -ere verbs. Some have the stress on the
ﬁrst e of the inﬁnitive, some on the previous syllable: vedere but
prendere. This has no bearing on any other part of the verb. Where
stress is on the antepenultimate syllable, this is given in the
Glossary. When in doubt, check in a dictionary where the stress
should fall.
46
Unit 3: In città
Exercise 6
A map of the centre of Torino is shown below. You are standing
at the spot marked X. Follow the instructions given and work out
where you get to.
1 Prenda Via Po, qui, sulla nostra sinistra. Vada sempre dritto
sotto i portici, sul lato sinistro, ﬁno alla quarta via sulla sinistra:
Via Montebello. Ed è li in Via Montebello, sulla destra, dopo
il cinema Massimo.
2 Allora, lei deve girare la piazza verso sinistra e prendere Via
Roma. Vede, è lì, sulla sinistra. Prosegua per Via Roma, sotto
i portici, e arriva in _____.
3 Lei deve fare il giro della piazza verso destra poi sulla destra
trova il cortile di Palazzo Reale. Attraversi il cortile diagonalmente, verso sinistra. Passi sotto l’arco; arriva in una via stretta
ed è lì sulla destra.
Unit 3: In town
47
Exercise 7
Work out how to explain to an Italian how to get to your home/
place of work from the bus stop/railway station/motorway exit
(uscita).
Example: L’uscita è ‘corso Marconi’. Sempre dritto per
200 metri; al secondo semaforo, a sinistra,
e poi la prima sulla destra. La casa è sulla sinistra,
il numero 23.
Exercise 8
Here are some sentences and, shown separately, some verbs. Can
you pick the correct verb in the correct form to complete the
sentence? Use each verb once only.
abito abita chiama chiedo chiedere
lavora piace prenda prendi vedi
dipende
vedo
1 Io non _____ la banca. Dov’è?
2 Non so se vengo. _____ dal mio lavoro.
3 Devo _____ la strada. Non _____ in questa città e non so dov’è
il duomo.
4 _____ la terza sulla sinistra e il museo è lì.
5 Un attimo. _____ a questo signore se la banca è qui vicino.
6 Il mio amico _____ a Milano, proprio in centro.
7 Mi __________ molto la fontana. E’ bella.
8 Questo Palazzo si _____ il Palazzo Pubblico. E’ molto antico.
9 Carlo _____ al museo di arte moderna. E’ un lavoro molto
interessante.
10 Ecco il bar Roma. Tu _____ Enzo? Deve essere qui. Ah si.
Ciao, Enzo. Cosa _____?
Reading
A Roma
1 What is the origin of the name of Palazzo Venezia?
2 Why do you think the Museum of Italian Uniﬁcation is in the
Vittoriano?
3 Why was the Campidoglio important in Ancient Rome?
4 Why do you think the Via dei Fori Imperiali is so called?
5 Between which two Piazze does Via del Corso run?
48
Unit 3: In città
Siamo a Roma. La piazza in primo piano è Piazza Venezia. Sulla
destra c’è Palazzo Venezia, in passato residenza degli ambasciatori
di Venezia, oggi un museo. Davanti a noi, c’è il Vittoriano, il
monumento al re Vittorio Emanuele II, il primo re d’Italia dopo
l’uniﬁcazione nel 1861. Qui si trova anche l’Altare della Patria e
la tomba del Milite Ignoto. All’interno del Vittoriano c’è il Museo
del Risorgimento. Oltre questo monumento si trova il Campidoglio,
il centro religioso della Roma antica e ancora oggi il cuore della
città.
Alla sinistra del Vittoriano c’è Via dei Fori Imperiali e in fondo
il Colosseo. A destra e a sinistra di questa via ci sono i ruderi del
Foro Romano. Di fronte al Vittoriano, in primo piano, c’è l’inizio
della famosa Via del Corso, la strada principale della città. Lunga
più di un chilometro, ﬁnisce in Piazza del Popolo.
Piazza Venezia and the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele.
Courtesy APT di Roma.
Unit 3: In town
49
Vocabulary
il re
il Milite Ignoto
il Risorgimento
i ruderi
the king
the Unknown Soldier
the name given to the nineteenth-century
movement for Italian unity
ruins
Cultural point
Vittorio Emanuele II was the ﬁrst king of the united Italy but the
second Victor Emanuel of the kingdom of Sardinia. The kingdom,
which orginally included Savoy, encompassed Piedmont as well
as the island of Sardinia, and its capital was Turin. It was the
prime mover for the unity of the peninsula, through its Prime
Minister, Count Cavour, the romantic patriot, Garibaldi, and Victor
Emanuel II.
4 In viaggio
Travelling
In this unit you will learn about:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Travelling – by train, bus, air
ogni ‘every’
Numbers 11 to 19
Years: how to say, e.g. 1492, 2005
Telling the time
Verbs with inﬁnitives in -ire (singular), third group
Relative pronouns (the man who . . . , the book which . . . )
Using proprio ‘exactly’; un po’/poco ‘a little’
Impersonal/unspeciﬁed si
Dialogue 1
Devo andare a Torino
While in Milan, Angela Smith needs to go to Turin for a day. She
enquires at the Milan Central Station (Milano–Stazione Centrale)
about the journey.
1
2
3
4
What sort of train does the Interregionale seem to be?
And the Eurostar?
How much, in total, does Angela’s ticket cost?
What would it have cost in ﬁrst class?
IMPIEGATO:
SMITH:
IMPIEGATO:
Buongiorno, dica.
Buongiorno. Devo andare a Torino. Posso fare
l’andata e il ritorno in una giornata?
Certo, signora. C’è un treno quasi ogni ora e ci
mette più o meno due ore. A che ora vuole partire?
Unit 4: Travelling
SMITH:
IMPIEGATO:
SMITH:
IMPIEGATO:
SMITH:
IMPIEGATO:
SMITH:
IMPIEGATO:
SMITH
IMPIEGATO:
SMITH:
IMPIEGATO:
SMITH
IMPIEGATO:
SMITH:
IMPIEGATO:
SMITH:
51
Verso le otto.
Allora, c’è un treno che parte alle 8.20. Arriva a
Torino alle 10.30.
E’ un rapido?
No, è un Interregionale. C’è l’Eurostar che parte
alle 8.15 che arriva a Torino alle 9.33 ma che naturalmente costa di più. Però l’Eurostar ci mette solo
1 ora e 20 minuti.
Benissimo. Prendo quello. E’ necessario prenotare
per domani?
Sì, è obbligatorio.
E per tornare? Vorrei essere a Milano prima delle
venti.
C’è un Eurostar ogni ora, alle 14.07, alle 16.15, alle
17.07, e alle 18.15.
Perfetto. Prendo quello delle 17.07.
Quello delle 17.07 ferma a Vercelli e Novara e ci
mette 10 minuti in più.
Va bene. Mi dia un’andata e ritorno per domani.
Prima o seconda classe?
Quanto costa?
In prima classe 20 euro all’andata e in seconda 15
euro. Il ritorno costa lo stesso.
Preferisco la seconda classe.
Allora, 30 euro in tutto.
Va bene.
Vocabulary
andare
posso . . .?
in una giornata
quasi
più o meno
a che ora vuole partire?
verso
quello
tornare
domani
vorrei . . .
ferma a Vercelli . . .
to go
can I . . . ?
in a day
almost
more or less
at what time do you want to leave?
at about
that one
to come back
tomorrow
I’d like, I should like . . .
it stops at Vercelli . . .
52
Unit 4: In viaggio
Language point
ogni ‘every’
ogni ora
giorno
dieci minuti
every hour
day
ten minutes
Ogni quanto c’è un treno per Torino?
How often do the trains for Turin run?
(lit. ‘every how much?’)
Vocabulary
Il treno
l’orario (dei treni)
biglietto (di andata e ritorno)
andata
ritorno
biglietteria
fare il biglietto
dove devo cambiare?
arrivo
partenza
prenotare, prenotazione
binario
da che binario parte il treno
per Verona?
un viaggiatore
viaggiare
il treno è in orario
anticipo
ritardo
partenza
arrivo
the (train) timetable
a (return) ticket
outward journey
return
ticket ofﬁce
to buy a ticket
where do I have to change?
arrival
departure
to book a seat, booking (sometimes
obligatory on fast trains)
track (the platform trains leave from
is given as binario . . . )
which platform does the train for
Verona leave from?
a traveller
to travel
the train is on time
early
late
leaving
arriving
Cultural point
Italian Railways are nowadays called Trenitalia, although you will
see the old name Ferrovie dello Stato and initials FFSS. It is quite
Unit 4: Travelling
easy now to check train times and book on line (www.trenitalia.
com) and a ticket bought that way is called: ticketless, using the
English term. Eurostar, Intercity, Interregionale are types of train,
in ascending order of the number of stops they make and therefore increased journey times.
Numbers 11 to 19
We can’t put it off any longer! You need to learn the remaining
numbers, 11 to 19. If necessary, remind yourself of the numbers in
Unit 1. The numbers 11 to 19 are perhaps the most difﬁcult for
the learner. They divide into two groups according to the way they
are formed:
11
12
13
14
15
16
undici
dodici
tredici
quattordici
quindici
sedici
17
18
19
diciassette
diciotto
diciannove
You will recognize part of each word as being similar to dieci (10)
but in the ﬁrst group that part comes at the end and in the second
group at the beginning of the word. Notice too that the stress of
the ﬁrst group falls on the third syllable from the end.
The numbers 11 to 19 can all be turned into ordinals by the
addition of -esimo, e.g.:
quattordicesimo
diciottesimo
Exercise 1
Here are some addresses. How would you say the house numbers?
Example: Via Tiziano 11.
Answer: Undici.
1 Corso Vittorio Emanuele 18
2 Via Mazzini 17
53
54
Unit 4: In viaggio
3 Via San Francesco 12
4 Piazza della Repubblica 19
5 Corso Cavallotti 16
Exercise 2
Work out how to say these famous dates in history in Italian. Note:
In Italian you always say: millenovecento . . ., i.e. ‘one thousand
nine hundred . . .’ and not ‘nineteen hundred . . .’
1 1215
5 1848
2 1492
6 1918
3 1789
7 1946
4 1815
8 2005
Telling the time
Che ora è? Che ore sono?
To ask someone ‘what’s the time?’ you can say either che ora è?
or che ore sono?. ora means ‘hour’, and its plural is ore.
E’ l’una
Sono le due
Sono le tre
. . . e così via
It’s one o’clock
It’s two o’clock
It’s three o’clock
. . . and so on
But at 12 noon and 12 midnight respectively:
E’ mezzogiorno
E’ mezzanotte
For minutes past, you simply use e:
Sono le cinque e cinque
dieci
venti
venticinque
It’s ﬁve past ﬁve
ten
twenty
twenty-ﬁve
and for minutes to, meno:
Sono le sei meno venticinque
venti
dieci
cinque
It’s twenty-ﬁve to six
twenty
ten
ﬁve
Unit 4: Travelling
55
For quarters and halves:
Sono le cinque e un quarto
le cinque e mezzo
le sei meno un quarto
It’s a quarter past ﬁve
half past ﬁve
a quarter to six
E’ mezzogiorno e un quarto
It’s a quarter past twelve
e mezzo
half past twelve
meno un quarto
a quarter to twelve
When giving the times of trains, ﬂights etc. Italians use the 24-hour
clock, which avoids the possibility of misunderstanding:
Il treno parte alle sedici e cinquanta.
The train leaves at 16.50.
Note also that when you are saying ‘at 16.50’ the a (‘at’) combines
with le or l’:
Parto all’una
alle due
I’m leaving at one
at two
More about this later.
Exercise 3
What times are the clocks showing? Use the
conversational way of telling the time.
Example: Sono le dieci e venticinque.
1
4
2
3
5
56
Unit 4: In viaggio
Exercise 4
Say at what time you:
1
2
3
4
5
get up
leave for work
have lunch
ﬁnish work
arrive home
Verbs ending in -ire
Angela used preferisco. You have already met capisco. The third
group of verbs in Italian has an inﬁnitive ending in -ire. In the
present tense, but not in most other tenses, this group of verbs
divides into two sub-groups.
(1)
(io)
(tu)
(Lei/lui/lei)
(2)
(io)
(tu)
(Lei/lui/lei)
capire
preferire
ﬁnire
capisco
capisci
capisce
preferisco
preferisci
preferisce
ﬁnisco
ﬁnisci
ﬁnisce
partire
dormire
sentire
parto
parti
parte
dormo
dormi
dorme
sento
senti
sente
The second sub-group has the same endings as -ere verbs, while
the ﬁrst have an extra syllable: -isc-. Try to learn, as you go along,
which group each type of -ire verb belongs to.
You have now seen the forms for the singular of all regular verbs
in Italian. Verb tables often look daunting but study the summary
table below carefully and you will see that the differences between
the groups are small.
-are
-ere
-ire (1)
-ire (2)
-o
-i
-a
-o
-i
-e
-isco
-isci
-isce
-o
-i
-e
Unit 4: Travelling
57
Don’t forget, the Italian present can express the meaning of both
the English simple present (‘I speak’) and also the English present
continuous (‘I am speaking’).
Exercise 5
Here are pictures of Carla doing various things. Match each
drawing with one of the sentences in the list below.
(c)
(a)
(b)
(d)
(e)
(g)
1 Carla balla in discoteca
2
visita un museo
3
prende un caffè
4
guarda la TV
(f)
(h)
5 Carla legge il giornale
6
scrive una lettera
7
parte per le vacanze
8
dorme
How would you say you were doing each of these actions? You
need to change the endings of the verbs to the io form.
Example: Ballo in discoteca.
58
Unit 4: In viaggio
Exercise 6
Giorgio has been telling you about himself. Tell someone else what
he said, i.e. rewrite his words so that you are talking about him,
changing the endings of the verbs from the ‘I’ form to the ‘he’
form.
Example: Giorgio è pilota.
Sono (1) pilota. Abito (2) a Verona e lavoro (3) per una compagnia
privata. Spesso devo (4) portare gente a Roma o a Bruxelles.
Generalmente parto (5) da Verona presto e arrivo (6) a Roma per
le 9. La sera torno (7) a Verona e ﬁnisco (8) di lavorare alle 18 o
alle 19. Se non è possible tornare dormo (9) all’albergo, ma
preferisco (10) tornare a Verona. Ma non decido (11) io, decide il
cliente.
Saying how long something takes
Ci mette is used to say how long it takes:
Il treno ci mette due ore.
The train takes two hours.
Per fare questo, ci metto mezz’ora.
To do this, I take half an hour.
Mettere in other contexts means ‘to put’ and works like prendere
in the present tense.
Dialogue 2
Vorrei andare in Piazza Castello
In Torino Angela wants to go to Piazza Castello. It is raining as
she gets off the train so she thinks she’ll take the bus. She ﬁnds a
bus information ofﬁce in the station.
1 If Angela takes the number 63, does it take her right to Piazza
Castello?
2 Where does she have to get off?
3 Which bus will take her right into Piazza Castello?
Unit 4: Travelling
ANGELA:
IMPIEGATO:
ANGELA:
IMPIEGATO:
ANGELA:
IMPIEGATO:
ANGELA:
59
Buongiorno. Vorrei andare in Piazza Castello. Che
autobus devo prendere?
Può prendere il 4, il 12 o il 63. Scende in Via XX
Settembre dietro il duomo. Trova una piccola via
che la porta in Piazza Castello.
Dov’è la fermata?
E’ in Via Sacchi, accanto alla stazione.
Non c’è un autobus che mi porti proprio in Piazza
Castello?
C’è il 15, che deve prendere in Via XX Settembre.
La lascia proprio in Piazza Castello.
Sembra un po’ difﬁcile. E piove. Dove posso trovare
un taxi?
Vocabulary
può
la lascia
piove
trovare
you can
it leaves you
it’s raining
ﬁnd
scende
sembra un po’
difﬁcile
you get off
it seems a bit
difﬁcult
Language points
Using che as an interrogative adjective
or pronoun
The word che has a number of uses, one of which is to make a
question (interrogative adjective or pronoun):
Che autobus devo prendere?
Che ora è?
Che cosa devo fare?
Which bus must I take?
What time is it?
What must I do?
Using che as a relative pronoun
Another use is to show the relationship between a noun followed
by a phrase and the main part of the sentence (relative pronoun):
Trova una piccola via che la porta in Piazza Castello.
You’ll ﬁnd a little street which takes you into Piazza Castello.
60
Unit 4: In viaggio
As a relative pronoun (e.g. in the last example), che can refer to
people or things, and be the subject or object of the clause it introduces. In this it differs from, and is easier than, both English and
French.
• People as subject:
L’amica che viene stasera abita proprio in Piazza Castello.
The friend who is coming this evening lives right in Piazza
Castello.
• People as object:
Giorgio è una persona che conosco bene.
Giorgio is a person (who) I know well.
• Things as subject:
Tu vedi il taxi che arriva?
Do you see (can you see) the taxi that is arriving?
L’Albergo Londra che è in Via Londra è molto famoso.
The Hotel Londra which is in Via Londra is very famous.
• Things as object:
Il libro che cerco è di un amico.
The book (that) I am looking for belongs to a friend.
Using proprio ‘exactly’
This is an adverb meaning ‘exactly, really, indeed, right, just’.
Arrivi proprio al momento giusto.
You are arriving (have come) exactly at the right moment.
Abita proprio in centro.
He lives right in the centre.
Sei proprio gentile.
You really are kind.
Using un po’ ‘a little’
un po’ is a very commonly used abbreviation for un poco ‘a little’.
Vuole un po’ di vino?
Would you like a little wine?
Unit 4: Travelling
Parla italiano?
Do you/does he/she speak Italian?
Un po’
A little
poco without un can also be an adverb:
Legge poco.
He reads little (i.e. he doesn’t read very much).
Dorme poco.
He doesn’t sleep very much.
E’ poco simpatico.
He’s not very nice.
It can also be an adjective:
poca gente
few people, not very many people
Reading 1
Come si fa a prendere l’autobus?
1 Where do you usually buy bus tickets?
2 Is the cost related to the distance travelled?
3 Why might the foreigner ﬁnd travelling by bus more pleasant
than driving?
Quando si prende l’autobus in Italia, occorre generalmente
acquistare il biglietto prima di salire. Di solito questo si fa dal
tabaccaio, dal giornalaio, al bar o in qualsiasi posto dove si vede
un cartello che annuncia la vendita dei biglietti. Salendo
sull’autobus, occorre obliterare il biglietto con la macchinetta. Nelle
città generalmente si paga lo stesso prezzo per qualsiasi percorso,
senza badare alla distanza. Però è meglio informarsi sul posto del
sistema in vigore. Viaggiare in autobus è un modo simpatico e
qualche volta anche divertente per conoscere una città, a contatto
con la gente e senza il problema di trovare un parcheggio una
volta arrivati a destinazione. E costa relativamente poco. Di solito
è più economico acquistare un blocchetto di dieci biglietti che un
biglietto solo. Chi sale senza biglietto paga una multa.
61
62
Unit 4: In viaggio
Vocabulary
occorre
it is necessary to,
you need to
di solito
usually
dal giornalaio at the newsagent’s
un cartello
a sign, a notice
la vendita
the sale
macchinetta
little machine
senza badare a regardless of
è meglio
it’s better to
informarsi
ﬁnd out (inform
oneself)
qualche volta sometimes
una multa
a ﬁne
acquistare
prima di salire
dal tabaccaio
in qualsiasi
posto
salendo
si paga lo
stesso prezzo
sul posto
un modo
un parcheggio
to purchase, buy
before getting on
at the tobacconist’s
in any place
as you get on
you pay the same
price
on the spot,
in the place
a way
a parking place,
a car park
Language points
salire/scendere ‘to get on/off’
‘To get on’ (e.g. a bus) is salire and ‘to get off’ is scendere. These
verbs are also used to refer to getting into and out of other
vehicles. The literal meanings are ‘to go up’ and ‘to go down’,
respectively. scendere is a regular verb, -ere type. salire is irregular.
Scusi, per il duomo, dove devo scendere?
Excuse me, for the cathedral, where should I get off?
Using chi
chi, like che, has more than one use. It can mean ‘who?’ when
asking questions:
Chi vuole venire con me?
Who wants to come with me?
Chi è?
Who is it?
It can also be used, as in this passage, to mean ‘the person who,
those who, anyone who’:
chi sale senza biglietto
anyone who gets on without a ticket
Unit 4: Travelling
63
This is much used in proverbs. In English we would say ‘he who’:
Chi va piano, va sano e va lontano.
(lit. ‘He who goes slowly, goes safely and a long way.’)
In other words: ‘More haste, less speed.’
It can also mean ‘some . . . others’:
Per andare a Roma c’è chi preferisce l’aereo, chi la propria
macchina, chi il treno.
For going to Rome, some prefer to travel by air, others to use
their own car and others the train.
Impersonal (unspeciﬁed) si
There were a number of examples of this in the last passage. si
has more than one meaning and a very common and useful one is
‘one’ as in ‘one does such and such’, i.e. in generalizations. In
English we often say ‘you’ or ‘they’ instead, or use the passive: e.g.
‘How do you/they do it?’, ‘How is it done?’ This is often called
impersonal si in grammar books, but it does refer to a person,
albeit an undeﬁned, unspeciﬁed person.
Come si fa a prendere l’autobus?
How does one go about taking the bus?
Note: You can also say:
Come si fa per . . . andare alla stazione?
Can you pick out the other cases of si in the text?
Here are some common and useful phrases with si:
Come si dice in italiano useful?
What is the Italian for useful?
(lit. ‘How does one say . . .’)
Come si
{
scrive
pronuncia
How is this word
{
}
questa parola?
written?
pronounced?
Qui si parla inglese.
English is spoken here.
Si può parcheggiare qui?
Can one/you park here?
64
Unit 4: In viaggio
Si mangia bene e si paga poco.
The food is good and it’s not expensive. (e.g. of a restaurant)
(lit. ‘One eats well and one pays little.’)
Using qualsiasi ‘any’
qualsiasi means ‘any’ in the sense of ‘it doesn’t matter which’,
‘whichever’.
qualsiasi percorso
qualsiasi paese
qualsiasi cosa
any journey
any country
anything (in positive sentences)
Reading 2
L’aeroporto
1 Why is travelling by air so easy for English-speaking travellers?
2 In what case are announcements made in English as well as
Italian?
Viaggiare in aereo, per una persona di madre-lingua inglese, è
facile. Perché? Perché l’aeroporto è un posto dove si usa molto la
lingua inglese. Questo è vero anche per l’aereo. E il personale
capisce sempre l’inglese. In genere tutto viene annunciato in inglese
e in italiano, soprattutto per i voli diretti verso un paese in cui la
lingua principale è l’inglese. Il vocabolario poi non è difﬁcile. Il
viaggiatore prende un volo; c’è anche un verbo, volare. Il volo parte
da un aeroporto e arriva in un altro. Per la partenza il viaggiatore
deve prima fare il ‘check-in’, poi deve passare per l’esame elettronico del bagaglio e il controllo dei passaporti. Poi va a una
precisa porta o uscita, da dove sale sull’aereo. Esattamente come
in tutti gli aeroporti del mondo.
Vocabulary
perché?
perché
soprattutto
why?
because
especially, above all
un volo
mondo
a ﬂight
world
5 Vorrei comprare/
Quanto costa?
I’d like to buy/How much does
it cost?
In this unit you will learn about:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Shopping for various items, asking how much something costs
Comparing one thing with another
‘False friends’
Asking if you may do something, saying you want to or have
to do something
Saying what you would like, and what you could or ought
to do
si può? Asking whether something is possible
The plurals of nouns, adjectives and deﬁnite articles
questo e quello ‘this and that’
The plural subject and strong pronouns (‘we, they’)
The plurals of regular verbs and some irregular ones
Dialogue 1
Vorrei una guida
Joe has just arrived in Florence and he wants to start exploring, but
ﬁrst he needs a guidebook and a good map. He goes into a likelylooking bookshop.
1 What type of guidebook does Joe choose?
2 Is he offered a choice of maps?
COMMESSA: Buongiorno, signore. Desidera?
Vorrei una guida della città.
JOE:
66
Unit 5: Vorrei comprare/Quanto costa?
COMMESSA: In italiano o in inglese?
JOE:
Preferisco l’inglese, se è possibile.
COMMESSA: Ecco. C’è questa, illustrata. E’ molto bella. E c’è
anche questa, tascabile. E’ più pratica, forse.
JOE:
Posso vedere? Infatti, ha ragione. La guida piccola è
più pratica. Quanto costa?
COMMESSA: 12 euro, signore.
JOE:
Va bene. Prendo questa.
COMMESSA: Altro, signore?
JOE:
Sì. Vorrei anche una pianta della città.
COMMESSA: Per il momento abbiamo solo questa. Guardi pure.
Secondo me, è la migliore.
JOE:
E’ molto chiara. La prendo. Quant’è?
COMMESSA: 17 euro in tutto. La pianta costa 5 euro.
JOE:
Ecco 20 euro.
COMMESSA: 18, 19, 20, ecco . . . Grazie, signore. ArrivederLa.
Buongiorno.
JOE:
Buongiorno.
Santa Maria Novella, Florence; courtesy of Suzanne Cousin.
This church, near the San Lorenzo market, also gives the main
rail station its name.
Unit 5: I’d like to buy/How much does it cost?
Vocabulary notes
vorrei ‘I’d like’. Polite way of asking for something in a shop – see
below.
tascabile lit. ‘pocketable’. una tasca means ‘a pocket’.
posso vedere? ‘may I see?’ (see below)
ha ragione ‘you’re right’
abbiamo ‘we have’
guardi pure ‘please have a look/please do have a look’
altro? ‘anything else?’
la prendo ‘I’ll take it’, lit. ‘I take it’ (present tense)
quant’è? (quanto è) ‘how much does it come to in total?’, ‘how much is
it?’ – usually referring to all the items bought
Language points
The comparative
You have met più o meno ‘more or less’. To compare two people
or things, you use più:
questa guida è più pratica this guidebook is more practical
piccola
smaller
interessante
more interesting
In Italian few words actually change in the comparative form; most
are simply preceded by più. Exceptions are:
migliore
peggiore
better
worse
maggiore
minore
bigger
smaller
But you can also say: più buono, più cattivo, più grande and più
piccolo. Purists prefer the ﬁrst forms, but the second are frequently
heard.
To say things from the other point of view, you use meno ‘less’:
Questo libro è meno importante.
This book is not so important (less important).
Vorrei una guida meno grande.
I’d like a smaller guidebook.
67
68
Unit 5: Vorrei comprare/Quanto costa?
To compare one thing with another, in phrases such as ‘smaller
than, more interesting than’, use di:
Questo libro è più interessante di quello.
Firenze è più piccola di Roma.
Firenze è meno grande di Roma.
Il più grande, la più grande means ‘the biggest’:
Di tutte le città italiane, Roma è la più grande.
Questo ristorante è caro, ma secondo me è il migliore della
città.
Questa cartolina è la più bella di tutte.
Note:
la più bella
il migliore
}
di
the most beautiful
the best
}
in
However, più can also mean ‘plus’ and meno can mean ‘minus’:
Due più due fa quattro
Quattro meno due fa due
2+2=4
4–2=2
Exercise 1
Vero o falso? Say if the following statements are true or false.
1
2
3
4
5
L’Italia è più grande del Canada.
Un albergo è più caro di un campeggio.
L’Everest è più alto dell’Etna.
L’elefante è più feroce del leone.
Napoli è più tranquilla di Venezia.
‘False friends’
infatti is frequently used by Italians when agreeing with something
someone has said. It means ‘indeed’ rather than ‘in fact’, which is
in effetti, in realtà. You have seen that Italian is highly ‘guessable’.
Many Italian words resemble English words. Language professionals refer to such words as cognates. Cognates make the learner’s
task easier. However, there are some cases where the similarity is
misleading. These words are sometimes called ‘false friends’.
One false friend you have already met is simpatico, which does
not mean quite the same as ‘sympathetic’ in English. If a person
Unit 5: I’d like to buy/How much does it cost?
69
is simpatico, you ﬁnd him congenial, likeable but he does not necessarily feel sympathy for you.
In the cases of both of these words, it is not disastrous if you
get the word wrong. Indeed it is often more a laughing matter and
everyone will probably enjoy it. For instance Italians use suggestivo to mean ‘beautiful’ and it has no hint of the meaning given
to ‘suggestive’ in English, hence Italian tourist brochures may refer
to ‘suggestive views’. But it makes all the difference to your Italian
if you pay attention to the points where the two languages differ
and try to get things right.
Common false friends
accidenti!
attualmente
bravo
conferenza
educato
fattoria
ginnasio
largo
libreria
morbido
occorrere
sensibile
good heavens!
at present
good, clever
(at something)
lecture
polite
farm
high school
wide
bookshop
soft
be necessary
sensitive
un incidente
veramente
coraggioso
congresso
lettura
colto, istruito
fabbrica
palestra
grande
biblioteca
malsano, morboso
succedere
sensato
an accident
actually
brave
conference
reading
educated
factory
gymnasium
large
library
morbid
happen, occur
sensible
Exercise 2
What does the following short paragraph mean? Watch out for the
false friends!
Alberto è un ragazzo molto educato. Attualmente frequenta il
ginnasio. E’ uno studente molto bravo. Gli piace la lettura e
va spesso nelle librerie a guardare e comprare libri.
Asking if you may do something, saying
you want to or have to do something
The word posso . . .? means ‘can I, may I . . .?’. You ﬁrst met it
in Unit 4. posso, like devo, is part of an irregular verb and one
70
Unit 5: Vorrei comprare/Quanto costa?
that is just as useful. Indeed there is a trio: dovere ‘to have to’,
potere ‘to be able to’ and volere ‘to want’, which, combined with
an inﬁnitive, enable you to say a lot of useful things. You have
already met the present of dovere (singular). Here are the other
two and dovere too to help you:
potere
volere
dovere
posso
puoi
può
voglio
vuoi
vuole
devo
devi
deve
You can now make combinations. Here are a few:
posso
voglio
devo
e così via














parlare
ﬁnire
partire
andare
lavorare
giocare
(and so on)
You can now ask other people if they are able, willing or have to
do something.
Formal
Può portare questo per me?
Can you carry this for me?
Vuole andare a Firenze domani?
Do you want to go to Florence tomorrow?
Deve veramente partire? Mi dispiace.
Do you really have to leave? I’m sorry.
Informal
Puoi ﬁnire questo per me?
Can you ﬁnish this for me?
Vuoi giocare a tennis?
Do you want to play tennis?
Devi andare a Roma?
Do you have to go to Rome?
Unit 5: I’d like to buy/How much does it cost?
Saying what you’d like, and what you
could or ought to do
When you are requesting something, in a shop for instance, it is
more courteous to say vorrei ‘I’d like’ than voglio ‘I want’. vorrei
is the ﬁrst person singular ‘I’ form of a different part of the verb
called the conditional. We shall look at the conditional in detail in
Unit 15. Also useful are two other ﬁrst person singular conditionals:
potrei
dovrei
I could
I ought to
Dovrei andare a Roma domani, potrei partire con il treno
delle 7.00, ma vorrei aspettare la telefonata di Giorgio prima
di decidere.
I ought to go to Rome tomorrow, I could leave on the 7 a.m.
train but I should like to wait for Giorgio’s phone call before
deciding.
si può? Asking whether something
is possible
You saw in Unit 3 that you can use this to ask if something is
possible. And of course you can use it to say it is impossible:
Si può prenotare un posto al cinema per questo ﬁlm?
No, signore, mi dispiace, non si può.
Can one book a seat in the cinema for this ﬁlm?
I’m sorry, Sir, it is not possible.
Exercise 3
Pair the sentences in the ﬁrst group below with logical follow-ups
from those in the second group.
1
2
3
4
5
Vado a Parigi, ma non parlo francese.
Non mi piace la pizza.
Potrei prenotare due posti per il ﬁlm stasera?
Andiamo in questa libreria.
Sono stanco.
a Mi dispiace, signore, ma non si può.
b Dovrei studiare la lingua.
71
72
Unit 5: Vorrei comprare/Quanto costa?
c Vorrei andare a dormire.
d Potrei prendere gli spaghetti alla bolognese?
e Vorrei comprare una guida della città.
Exercise 4
How would you say the following in Italian?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
I want to go to Rome.
I’m sorry, I can’t go to Rome.
May I see the book?
Can you play tennis tomorrow?
Sorry, I can’t. I have to go to Milan.
I don’t want to leave tomorrow.
Is it possible to leave for Rome tonight?
I’m sorry, it’s not possible.
I’d like a beer.
Is it possible to pay by credit card?
(pagare con la carta di credito)
Can you (people generally) see Etna from here?
Using secondo me
This means ‘according to me’ but is a very useful way of expressing
the idea ‘in my opinion, I think that . . .’. It can be adapted:
secondo
me
te
lui
lei
Paolo
Dialogue 2
Cinque cartoline per favore
Joe intends to send postcards to friends back home. He goes into a
Tabaccheria, which has some attractive displays of cards.
1 How many postcards does Joe buy?
2 Which country does he plan to send them to?
Unit 5: I’d like to buy/How much does it cost?
TABACCAIO:
JOE:
TABACCAIO:
JOE:
TABACCAIO:
JOE:
TABACCAIO:
JOE:
TABACCAIO:
JOE:
TABACCAIO:
JOE:
Dica.
Posso vedere le cartoline?
Certo, faccia pure.
Quanto costano?
Queste qui, normali, costano 40 centesimi l’una. Le
grandi costano 55 l’una.
Allora, prendo cinque di quelle normali e cinque
grandi. Sono molto belle, le grandi, ma un po’ care.
Sì, sono bellissime, ma se deve scrivere a molte
persone . . . Allora, sono 4 euro e 75 in tutto. Vuole
anche i francobolli?
Sì, mi dia dieci francobolli per gli Stati Uniti.
Via aerea?
Sì, grazie.
Metto i francobolli qui nella busta con le cartoline.
Le do anche dieci etichette ‘via aerea’. Desidera
altro?
No, grazie. Quant’è?
Cultural point
In Italy tobacco and cigarettes come under a state monopoly and
are therefore sold though licensed outlets. This explains why tobacconists also sell stamps (and, at one time, salt, which was also under
a state monopoly). The post ofﬁce also sells stamps, of course,
along with other functions. A letter or postcard going outside
Europe will need to be sent via aerea ‘by air’. For mail within Italy
and Europe a relatively new service: prioritaria, for which you pay
extra, seems to get letters to their destinations quickly, in a way
that used to be unknown in Italy.
Language points
Plurals of nouns
Singular ending
Plural ending
-o
-a
-e
-i
-e
-i
(m.)
(f.)
(m. and f.)
73
74
Unit 5: Vorrei comprare/Quanto costa?
Examples
un francobollo
un palazzo
una cartolina
una fontana
uno studente
una torre
dieci francobolli
due palazzi
cinque cartoline
tre fontane
cento studenti
due torri
Exception
Monosyllabic nouns and nouns ending in a consonant or a stressed
vowel do not change in the plural:
due bar
tre computer
dieci caffè
Plurals of adjectives
Adjectives form their plurals in the same way:
Singular
Plural
americano
americani
bello
americana
belli
americane
bella
belle
inglese
inglesi
interessante
interessanti
So we have:
un signore americano
due signori americani
un libro interessante
due libri interessanti
Unit 5: I’d like to buy/How much does it cost?
Exercise 5
The bar is very busy and the barman is working fast. But either
he is ﬂustered or he is not hearing properly. He repeats the orders
to the customers, but in each case he gets it wrong. Be the
customers and correct him as indicated.
Example: Un vino rosso, vero?
No, two _____.
You say: No, due vini rossi.
1 Un caffè, vero?
2 Un’aranciata, vero?
‘No, three _____.’
‘No, four _____.’
3 Una birra, vero?
4 Un’acqua minerale, vero?
‘No, ﬁve _____.’
‘No, six _____.’
5 Una spremuta di arancia, vero?
6 Un cappuccino, vero?
‘No, seven _____.’
‘No, eight _____.’
(to customer number seven, as the barman turns away)
Oh, questo barista è decisamente strano.
Plurals of deﬁnite articles
Singular
Plural
Feminine
la
l’
le
le
Masculine
il
l’
lo
i
gli
gli
Examples
la strada
l’acqua
il francobollo
l’americano
lo studente
le strade
le acque
i francobolli
gli americani
gli studenti
Note: (1) lo stato –means ‘the state’ and hence we have gli Stati
Uniti d’America. (2) le, the feminine plural article, is not shortened when the next word starts with a vowel.
75
76
Unit 5: Vorrei comprare/Quanto costa?
Exercise 6
Here are some nouns, sometimes with adjectives describing them.
What would be the correct word for ‘the’ to use with each one?
Example: _____ pianta tascabile
Answer:
la pianta tascabile
1
2
3
4
5
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
albergo caro
città tranquilla
ragazzi educati
cartoline grandi
francobolli italiani
6
7
8
9
10
_____ studente americano
_____ ufﬁci pubblici
_____ monumento importante
_____ scontrini
_____ città italiane
Using questo/quello
These may be used as an adjective, with a noun, or as a pronoun,
standing for a noun.
Prendo questo. (pr.)
I’ll have this one (referring to a masculine noun).
Mi piace quella fontana. (adj.)
I like that fountain.
–
–
–
–
Vuoi comprare questa cartolina? (adj.)
No, preferisco quella. (pr.)
Do you want to buy this postcard?
No, I prefer that one.
Questo (pr.) è più grande; quello (pr.) è più interessante.
This one is bigger; that one is more interesting.
quello, when used in front of a noun, has forms like those of the
deﬁnite article:
il palazzo
l’albergo
lo stato
la fontana
l’acqua
quel palazzo
quell’albergo
quello stato
quella fontana
quell’acqua
i palazzi
gli alberghi
gli stati
le fontane
le acque
quei palazzi
quegli alberghi
quegli stati
quelle fontane
quelle acque
The changes are to do with sound and the smooth ﬂow of speech
from the tongue; the forms are those that ﬂow for Italian. Say them
to yourself.
Unit 5: I’d like to buy/How much does it cost?
Exercise 7
Look back at Exercise 6. Instead of ‘the’ in each case, what would
you put for ‘that/those’?
Plural subject pronouns
noi we
voi you (more than one person)
loro they
Don’t forget that more often than not Italians omit the subject
pronoun. However, these pronouns, unlike the singular ones (see
Unit 1), can also be used after a preposition (‘with, in, from’); and
with secondo:
Noi siamo con loro.
Parte con voi?
Vuole venire con noi.
secondo loro
We are with them.
Is he leaving with you?
He wants to come with us.
in their opinion
In other words, they are also the strong pronouns.
Plurals of regular verbs
-are
-ere
-ire
-iamo
-ate
-ano
-iamo
-ete
-ono
-iamo
-ite
-ono/iscono
parlare
vedere
partire
ﬁnire
parliamo
parlate
parlano
vediamo
vedete
vedono
partiamo
partite
partono
ﬁniamo
ﬁnite
ﬁniscono
Look closely: the differences are small. For all verbs, the noi form
is -iamo. For voi, the distinguishing or characteristic vowel of the
inﬁnitive appears: -ate, -ete, -ite. For the loro form, the -are verbs
have -ano, the others -ono. Also for the loro form, the stress moves
77
78
Unit 5: Vorrei comprare/Quanto costa?
from the penultimate syllable to the antepenultimate. The stressed
vowel is indicated above by the underlining. Note also, that verbs
like ﬁnire have the extra -isc- only in the third person in the plural.
Exercise 8
How would you complete the following sentences in Italian? We
give you the verb to use. Don’t forget to leave out the pronoun
(‘we, you’ etc.).
1
2
3
4.
5
6
(We prefer) Roma a New York. (preferire – it works like ﬁnire)
(We arrive) a casa alle sei e mezzo. (arrivare)
(They are buying) una guida di Roma. (comprare)
Gianni e Carlo, (do you understand) l’inglese? (capire)
Anna e Giorgio (are leaving) alle otto. (partire)
Gli studenti (are having) un caffè. (prendere)
Using quanto costa?
Now you probably understand why the question is sometimes
quanto costa? and sometimes quanto costano?. costare is an -are
verb, so:
Quanto costa?
Quanto costano?
How much does it cost?
How much do they cost?
quant’è? or quanto fa? are usually used to enquire about the total
cost: ‘how much does it come to?’.
Plurals of irregular verbs
essere
avere
potere
dovere
volere
siamo
siete
sono
abbiamo
avete
hanno
possiamo
potete
possono
dobbiamo
dovete
devono
vogliamo
volete
vogliono
As you study these you will realize that, for the most part, the
irregularities are sound changes in the ‘root’ of the verb, not in
the endings.
Unit 5: I’d like to buy/How much does it cost?
Exercise 9
Here are two short paragraphs. Most of the verbs have been left
in the inﬁnitive. Can you write down the correct form in each case?
(a) Mio marito ed io (1 andare) in discoteca questa sera. Generalmente la sera (2 guardare) la TV, (3 leggere) o (4 invitare)
amici. Ma questa sera (5 volere) cambiare.
(b) Gli Italiani (1 lavorare) molto. Generalmente (2 cominciare)
a lavorare alle 7.30, alle 8.00 o alle 8.30. A mezzogiorno molti
(3 tornare) a casa per mangiare, altri (4 mangiare) in città.
(5 Finire) di lavorare alle 6.00 o alle 7.00 di sera. Se (6 volere)
andare al cinema o a teatro (7 dovere) mangiare rapidamente.
Il teatro comincia alle 9.00.
molti
altri
se
many people
others, other people
if
Reading
Il mercato in Italia
1 Why is it easy to visit a market in Italy?
2 Why are the restaurants and bars full on market day?
Per lo straniero in Italia, un divertimento e un piacere è la visita
al mercato locale. Ogni paese ha un mercato almeno una volta alla
settimana e questo è vero anche nelle grandi città dove ci sono
mercati di quartiere. Il turista ammira la frutta e la verdura: tutto
è sempre fresco e disposto con arte per attirare il cliente. Spesso
ci sono contadini che vengono dalla campagna con i loro prodotti:
uova, frutta e verdura, noci, funghi, dipende dalla stagione.
Generalmente c’è anche un venditore di formaggi, una bancarella
di pesce e spesso un macellaio che vende la carne. In più ci sono
vestiti, articoli da cucina, scarpe e sandali, borse, biancheria da
casa, un po’ di tutto, insomma. Il mercato è anche un luogo di
incontro per la gente del paese e della campagna circostante. I bar,
i ristoranti e le strade sono pieni di persone che chiacchierano con
animazione.
79
80
Unit 5: Vorrei comprare/Quanto costa?
Vocabulary
lo straniero
un divertimento
la verdura
contadini
stagione
pesce
vestiti
scarpe
borse
chiacchierare
the foreigner
entertainment
vegetables
peasants, farmers,
country people
season
ﬁsh
clothes
shoes
bags, handbags
to chat, chatter
piacere
almeno
attirare
uova
noci
formaggi
macellaio
cucina
biancheria
da casa
pleasure
at least
to attract
eggs
walnuts
cheeses
butcher
kitchen,
cooking
household
linen
Exercise 10
Going over and revising what you have learned is a good way of
ﬁxing it more securely in your mind. If you haven’t been doing
this, try reviewing Unit 1 and perhaps further units. You should
ﬁnd that things that seemed difﬁcult or strange at ﬁrst have become
clearer.
6 Appuntamenti
Engagements
In this unit you will learn about:
•
•
•
•
Making appointments
Hours, days, weeks, months, seasons, years and the date
Using the telephone and mobile phones
Prepositions: a and other prepositions + deﬁnite article;
prepositions generally
• Reﬂexive and reciprocal verbs (‘to enjoy oneself’, ‘to speak to
each other’)
• More irregular verbs
• Telling people to do something – the imperative
Dialogue 1
Vorrei parlare con il signor Rossi
Angela Smith calls signor Rossi to arrange a meeting next week to
discuss their new project.
1 When would Mrs Smith like to have a meeting with Mr Rossi?
2 After agreeing to the meeting, what suggestion does Mr Rossi
make to Mrs Smith?
SMITH:
SEGRETARIA:
SMITH:
SEGRETARIA:
SMITH:
SEGRETARIA:
Pronto, ditta Rossi?
Sì, buongiorno. Desidera?
Vorrei parlare con il signor Rossi.
Chi parla?
Sono Angela Smith.
Ah, buongiorno signora Smith. Un attimo, per
favore. Le passo subito il signor Rossi.
82
Unit 6: Appuntamenti
ROSSI:
SMITH:
Pronto. Buongiorno, signora, come va?
Bene grazie, e Lei? Senta, vengo in Italia la settimana prossima. Possiamo vederci per parlare del
nuovo progetto?
Buona idea. Quando Le va bene?
Martedì devo andare a Torino. Suggerisco
mercoledì alle nove. Va bene?
Sì, anche per me va bene. Mercoledì, 17 giugno.
Giusto.
E mercoledì sera, se Lei è libera, venga a cena con
me e mia moglie.
Grazie, è molto gentile. Accetto con piacere.
Arrivederci alla settimana prossima.
ROSSI:
SMITH:
ROSSI:
SMITH:
ROSSI:
SMITH:
ditta
cena
company, ﬁrm
supper, evening meal
Language points
Hours, days, weeks, months, years
You should be able to work out what these mean:
un secondo
un minuto
un’ora
un giorno
60 secondi
60 minuti
24 ore
7 giorni
=
=
=
=
un minuto
un’ora
un giorno
una settimana
Unit 6: Engagements
una settimana
un mese
un anno
83
4 settimane = un mese
12 mesi
= un anno
Do you remember how to say ‘wait a moment’ (Unit 1)?
un attimo
or often
attenda/aspetti un attimo
Vocabulary
Here are some more words related to days, months and years.
oggi
ieri
l’altro ieri
domani
dopodomani
la settimana prossima
la settimana scorsa
mattino, mattina
pomeriggio
ogni giorno
quotidiano
ogni settimana
ogni mese
il giorno dopo
il giorno prima
l’indomani
quindici giorni,
due settimane
today
yesterday
the day before yesterday
tomorrow
the day after tomorrow
next week
last week
morning (both masculine and feminine forms
exist – use either)
afternoon
daily (adv.)
daily (adj.); also ‘daily newspaper’ (as noun)
weekly
monthly
the day after
the day before
the next day (the day after the one being talked
about, usually in the past)
a fortnight
Do you remember the words for ‘evening’ and ‘night’?
Exercise 1
Using the words given above, how do you think you might say the
following? Don’t forget, mese and anno are masculine.
1 next month
2 last month
84
Unit 6: Appuntamenti
3 next year
4 last year
5 annually
Can you guess how you might say:
6 tomorrow morning
7 yesterday afternoon
Note: ‘This morning’, ‘this evening’ and ‘tonight’ are usually stamattina, stasera and stanotte respectively, i.e. questa is abbreviated to
sta. ‘This afternoon’ is questo pomeriggio or oggi pomeriggio.
i giorni della settimana
The days of the week:
lunedì
martedì
mercoledì
giovedì
venerdì
sabato
domenica
Note: All have irregular stress and are written without capital
letters. All are masculine, except la domenica.
arrivo lunedì
arrivo il lunedì
a sabato
a domani
a stasera
alla settimana prossima
I arrive/am arriving on Monday
I arrive on Mondays (regularly)
see you on Saturday
see you tomorrow
see you this evening
see you next week
i mesi dell’anno
The months of the year:
gennaio
febbraio
marzo
aprile
maggio
giugno
luglio
agosto
settembre
ottobre
novembre
dicembre
Again, no capital letters are used and all are masculine.
When giving the date you say:
il primo dicembre
l’otto dicembre
il due dicembre
il trentun dicembre
Unit 6: Engagements
85
i.e. you use the ordinal for ‘the ﬁrst’ only. Note also that trentun
works like un, as do other numbers ending in uno.
There is more than one way of asking what the date is:
Qual è la data (di) oggi?
What’s the date today?
Oggi è il venti aprile.
Today is the twentieth of April.
di is optional. Or, when you know the month but are not sure of
the day:
Quanti ne abbiamo oggi?
What’s the date today?
Oggi ne abbiamo 20.
It’s the 20th.
Che giorno è oggi?
What day is it today?
‘On’ with a date is omitted:
Arrivo il diciassette giugno.
I’m arriving on the seventeenth of June.
That is the usual word order; the number is not put after the month.
And when abbreviating, the order is the European one:
03.11.04 = il tre novembre 2004
To say simply ‘in July’ you can use either a or in:
Mark, il mio amico inglese, viene in Italia a luglio.
Mark, my English friend, is coming to Italy in July.
Exercise 2
Say these dates aloud in Italian and then write them down.
1 1 May
2 25 December
3 14 July
4 11 June
5* 25 April
6* 20 September
7 Work out the date of your own birthday, compleanno.
* These two dates are often used for street names. They mark respectively the
liberation of Italy at the end of the Second World War; and the date in 1870 when
the Papal States fell to the troops of the then recently uniﬁed Italian state, thus
completing it.
86
Unit 6: Appuntamenti
le quattro stagioni
Here are the four seasons:
l’inverno la primavera
l’estate (f.)
l’autunno
You say: in inverno, in primavera, in estate, in autunno. With
inverno and estate, di can also be used.
al telefono Using the telephone
Vocabulary
telefonare a una persona
chiamare una persona
carta/scheda telefonica
una cabina telefonica
pronto
chi parla?
con chi parlo?
sono Giorgio
c’è Carla?
sì, c’è/no, non c’è
teleselezione
preﬁsso
centralino
interno
attenda (resti) in linea
le passo . . .
mi sente?
è caduta la linea
scusi, ho sbagliato numero
numero verde
segreteria telefonica
un abbonato
un elenco telefonico
to telephone someone
to call someone
telephone card
telephone box
hello (pronto also means ‘ready’)
who is calling/speaking?
who am I talking to? who’s speaking?
(this is) Giorgio speaking
is Carla there/available?
yes, she’s here/no, she’s not here
direct dialling
area (or country) code (see note below)
switchboard
extension
hold the line
I’m putting you through to . . .
can you hear me?
I (we)’ve been/were cut off
I’m sorry, I’ve dialled the wrong number
freephone number (starts with 167)
telephone answering machine
subscriber
telephone directory
Note: Italian area codes must be included even when you dial from
within that area. When dialling from outside Italy, do not omit the
0 of the area code. So in Milan, calling a Milan number, you dial
the area code 02 and then the number. Calling from outside Italy,
you dial 00 39 (code for Italy ) 02 and then the number.
Unit 6: Engagements
87
Italians vary in how they say telephone numbers. It is usual to say:
nove tre sei sette uno cinque sei
9367156
but some people group the numbers:
novantatrè, sessantassette, quindici, sei
We advise the ﬁrst system.
The dialling tone in Italy is a short tone followed by a longer
tone. When the number is ringing you hear a long tone, repeated.
If the number is engaged you get a repeated short tone.
Exercise 3
Look at the information below from an Italian telephone directory
and say which number you would call if:
1
2
3
4
5
You saw a building on ﬁre.
You saw someone collapse in the street.
You saw a bridge collapse.
Your house had been broken into.
You were a child with a problem you couldn’t handle and no
one to turn to about it.
NUMERI DI EMERGENZA
Soccorso pubblico di emergenza
113
Carabinieri – pronto intervento
112
Vigili del fuoco – pronto intervento
115
Soccorso stradale
803.116
Emergenza sanitaria
118
Pronto soccorso autoambulanze
118
Telefono azzurro – Linea gratuita per i bambini
1.96.96
Using mobile phones, il telefonino/il cellulare
un sms
(un esse emme esse)
a text message
(from the English: Short Message
Service); also called un messaggino
(telefonico)
88
Unit 6: Appuntamenti
The telefonino quickly became widely popular in Italy. It has been
argued that it is another means by which the usually tight-knit
Italian family keeps a check on its members!
Text messaging, however, does not seem to have developed the
same lively special language as it has in English. Perhaps Italian
lends itself less to creative abbreviation. The most usual thing is
to eliminate the vowels in words, thus non sono libero becomes
nn sn libero. For example:
che
chi
per
comunque
often becomes
often becomes
becomes
becomes
ke
ki
x
cmq
so
so
ki 6
xke
=
=
chi sei?
perché
This is particularly popular among teenagers (who also abbreviate
messaggino to mess or mex), but rather frowned on by the generation immediately preceding them – e.g. those in their twenties.
Older generations are often completely unaware of the practice. It
is the teenagers too who use messages such as:
TVB = ti voglio bene
I love you
TVTB = ti voglio tanto bene
I love you so much
TAT = ti amo tanto
I love you
These are perhaps similar to SWALK in English and of course
precede the mobile phone. However, Italian is a language of long
words and suppressing some of the vowels when you text can save
time!
Dialogue 2
Andiamo al cinema
Alberto telephones Marisa to ask her to go to the cinema with him.
1 Which days can Alberto not manage?
2 Where do they decide to meet?
ALBERTO:
MARISA:
Pronto. Casa Rossini? C’è Marisa?
Sì, sono io. Chi parla?
Unit 6: Engagements
ALBERTO:
89
Ciao, Marisa. Sono Alberto. Senti, danno quel nuovo
ﬁlm al Lux la settimana prossima. Sai, il ﬁlm che ha
avuto il Leone d’oro al Festival di Venezia. Che dici?
Andiamo a vederlo?
Sì, volentieri. Quando?
Lunedì non posso perché ho una riunione. Va bene
martedì?
Mi dispiace, faccio sempre aerobica il martedì.
E io il mercoledì gioco sempre a tennis con Raffaele.
Giovedì ti va bene?
Giovedì, vediamo un attimo. Il 10, vero?
Sì, il 10 ottobre.
(consulting her diary) Sì, sono libera. Per me va
benissimo giovedì. Dove ci troviamo?
Andiamo a mangiare la pizza prima? Ti vengo a
prendere alle 7.00.
Perfetto. A giovedì allora. Ciao.
Ciao, a giovedì.
MARISA:
ALBERTO:
MARISA:
ALBERTO:
MARISA:
ALBERTO:
MARISA:
ALBERTO:
MARISA:
ALBERTO:
Language points
Prepositions
Prepositions with the deﬁnite article
You have now met a number of examples and it is time to give
you the whole picture. The spelling reﬂects the way a combines
with the deﬁnite article in speech:
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
il
l’ (m.)
lo
la
l’ (f.)
i
gli
le
gli scavi
→
→
→
→
→
→
→
→
al
all’
allo
alla
all’
ai
agli
alle
excavations (archaeological)
al supermercato
all’aeroporto
allo stadio
alla stazione
all’entrata
ai negozi
agli scavi
alle casse
la cassa
till, cash desk
Look back to quel in Unit 5. It works the same way.
90
Unit 6: Appuntamenti
The same thing happens with four other common, short prepositions: da, su, in and di. The following examples are taken from
earlier units:
un panorama sulla valle
salire sull ’autobus
dal tabaccaio
sulla destra, sulla sinistra
informarsi sul posto
dal giornalaio
In and di change when they combine with the article:
in + il
di + il
→
→
nel
del
metto i francobolli nella busta
i mesi dell ’anno
i giorni della settimana
prima della partenza
una guida della città
These forms are called articulated prepositions. The full table can
be found in the Grammar section at the end of the book.
Warning: These very common prepositions (a, di, da, in, su) should
be handled with care. They are arguably the trickiest thing to learn
to use correctly in Italian. Nonetheless, you should not be too inhibited by this warning, as a mistake in a preposition does not usually
obscure your meaning.
For example, Italian uses a to mean ‘to’ or ‘in’ when talking
about towns and cities and in when talking about countries, regions
etc. Direction or place (going to or being in) is indicated in the
verb.
Abito
a Roma
in Italia
I live in Rome
in Italy
Devo andare
a Roma
in Italia
I have to go
to Rome
to Italy
Note: You use the article as well as in with countries that are plural:
Devo andare
negli Stati Uniti
nei Paesi Bassi (Netherlands)
nelle Antille (West Indies)
It makes sense to learn usages as you go along. For instance a can
mean ‘to’, ‘in’, ‘at’, or even ‘on’ in some cases:
Unit 6: Engagements
91
Andiamo al cinema
Siamo al cinema
Abita a Roma
Marco è al telefono
Let’s go to the cinema
We are at the cinema
He lives in Rome
Marco’s on the phone
Another tricky preposition is da: da can mean ‘at the house/
establishment of’. For example, dal tabaccaio means ‘at the tobacconist’s’ (cf. French ‘chez’).
Fra and tra are interchangeable and mean ‘among, between,
through’, and with an expression of time, ‘in . . .’s time’.
fra Milano e Genova
fra un’ora
between Milan and Genoa
in an hour’s time
Other common prepositions
Other common prepositions are listed below. There are fewer
idiomatic uses with these.
con
per
contro (di)
davanti a
di fronte a
sopra (di)
in mezzo a
prima di
with
for, through, by
against
in front of
opposite
above
in the middle of
before
senza (di)
attraverso
dietro (di)
accanto a
in fondo a
oltre
dopo (di)
entro*
without
across, through
behind
beside, next to
at the bottom of
beyond
after
by (+ point in
time)
* Finiamo entro giovedì ‘We’ll ﬁnish by Thursday’
Where (di) is indicated above, di is used before a pronoun, for
example:
senza di lui
contro di me
without him
against me
Exercise 4
The following information comes from the brochure of a gymnasium. Complete it by putting articulated prepositions in the blanks.
We indicate which preposition you should use (e.g. su) but leave
you to work out how it combines with the deﬁnite article. Note:
salute is feminine. You should be able to work out the gender of
the other nouns.
92
Unit 6: Appuntamenti
SERVIZI OFFERTI
Biblioteca (su) _____ salute e (su) _____ sport
Ampio parcheggio
La possibilità (in) _____ bella stagione di allenarsi
(a) _____ aperto tra il verde
Orario:
(da) _____ lunedì (a) _____ venerdì (da) _____
ore 9.00 (a) _____ ore 21.15
il sabato (da) _____ ore 10.00 (a) _____ ore 12.30
salute
ampio parcheggio
allenarsi
health
large car park
to train, to work out
And this is from an advertising brochure for a self-service restaurant:
Per il pranzo (in) _____ corso (di) _____ intervallo di
lavoro, per la cena che segue (a) _____ shopping, per
ritrovarsi con gli amici prima (di) _____ spettacolo in
una sala (di) _____ centro, per una sosta ristoratrice
fra una scoperta e l’altra (in) _____ la città in cui si fa
turismo . . . la soluzione è Brek.
pranzo
cena
spettacolo
sala
sosta
scoperta
lunch
supper
show
hall (theatre, cinema etc.)
pause, stop
discovery
Note: shopping is considered as beginning with s + consonant.
Unit 6: Engagements
93
Reﬂexive/reciprocal verbs
Mi chiamo Harry.
Come si chiama?
We explained in Unit 2 that chiamare means ‘to call’ and mi chiamo
means ‘I call myself’, i.e. ‘my name is’. The inﬁnitive is chiamarsi.
A verb that works this way is called a reﬂexive verb, i.e. one that
‘turns back on itself’. The present tense of chiamarsi is:
mi chiamo
ti chiami
si chiama
ci chiamiamo
vi chiamate
si chiamano
mi, ti etc. are called reﬂexive pronouns. In the inﬁnitive form the
reﬂexive pronoun follows the verb and is written joined to it.
Sometimes there is a direct equivalence between an Italian verb
and an English verb:
divertirsi
to enjoy oneself
mi diverto
ti diverti
si diverte
ci divertiamo
vi divertite
si divertono
I enjoy/am enjoying myself
you enjoy/are enjoying yourself
he/she enjoys/is enjoying himself/herself
we are enjoying ourselves
you are enjoying yourselves
they are enjoying themselves
But often this is not the case. Common reﬂexive verbs are:
alzarsi
coricarsi
addormentarsi
svegliarsi
riposarsi
lavarsi
pettinarsi
vestirsi
accorgersi
sposarsi
rendersi conto
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
get up
lie down
fall asleep
wake up
rest
wash (oneself)
comb/do one’s hair
dress, get dressed
notice
get married
realize
accomodarsi ‘to make oneself comfortable’, is used particularly in
the formal invitation s’accomodi ‘take a seat, sit down’.
94
Unit 6: Appuntamenti
In the plural some verbs are used with the reﬂexive pronoun to
indicate the action is reciprocal:
Dove ci troviamo?
lit. ‘Where shall we ﬁnd each other?’,
i.e. ‘Where shall we meet?’
Non si parlano.
They don’t talk/are not speaking to each other.
Si vedono ogni sabato.
They see each other each Saturday.
Grammatically sophisticated readers may be assured: the reﬂexive
pronouns mi, ti etc. can mean both ‘myself’ and ‘to myself’, ‘yourself’ and ‘to yourself’, i.e. they can be direct and indirect objects
of the verb.
Note: Common ways of saying ‘goodbye’ between friends are ci
vediamo or ci sentiamo, meaning ‘see you soon’ and ‘we’ll telephone each other’ respectively.
Exercise 5
The printer has got the following sentences muddled up. They
describe what I do every morning. Put them into a more logical
order.
1 Mi pettino.
2 Non mi alzo subito.
3 Mi vesto.
4 Vado in bagno.
5 Mi sveglio alle sette.
6 Mi lavo.
Exercise 6
Lucio has done a series of drawings of his morning routine. What
does he do? Here are the verbs you need: pettinarsi, fare la doccia,
vestirsi, svegliarsi, fare colazione, alzarsi, prepararsi.
Unit 6: Engagements
95
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
96
Unit 6: Appuntamenti
More irregular verbs
andare
venire
fare
sapere
dire
vado
vai
va
andiamo
andate
vanno
vengo
vieni
viene
veniamo
venite
vengono
faccio
fai
fa
facciamo
fate
fanno
so
sai
sa
sappiamo
sapete
sanno
dico
dici
dice
diciamo
dite
dicono
You need to ﬁnd your own way of learning these verbs. You will
need them a lot – but you will also hear them a lot, which will
help you.
– Dove vai?
– Vado a fare la spesa. Perché non vieni con me?
– Buona idea, così faccio la spesa anch’io.
– Where are you going?
– I’m going shopping. Why don’t you come with me?
– Good idea, that way I’ll do my shopping too.
– Anna dice che non sa dove abita Luisa. Come facciamo a
trovare la sua casa?
– Anna says she doesn’t know where Luisa lives? How shall
we ﬁnd her house?
Exercise 7
Here are two lists. The ﬁrst contains questions and the second
answers but again they have become muddled. Can you sort them
out?
1 Vuoi venire con me?
2 Da dove vengono?
3
4
5
6
7
8
Che cosa dicono del progetto?
Che cosa fai?
Andate al mercato?
Dove vanno Giorgio e Maria?
Lucia sa che Giorgio arriva oggi?
Chi viene con noi?
a Si, vogliamo un po’ di
frutta e di verdura.
b Sì. Viene a trovarlo
stasera.
c Al cinema.
d Non posso oggi.
e Scrivo una lettera.
f Vengo io.
g Non sanno che esiste.
h Da Roma.
Unit 6: Engagements
97
Telling people to do something – the
imperative
You have met a number of examples of this. For instance:
Giri a destra.
Turn right.
Prenda la terza sulla sinistra.
Take the third on the left.
Scusi.
Excuse me.
Senta.
Listen.
All these are examples of the imperative, the form of the verb used
to give orders or instructions. They were all used in the formal
form, addressed to people when using lei. How can we make sense
of this?
Formal form
-are verbs
scusare
girare
parlare
accomodarsi
All other verbs
scusi
giri
parli
s’accomodi
prendere
sentire
dire
venire
prenda
senta
dica
venga
The rule is that for verbs other than -are ones, the ending is -a,
even if you are not quite sure what to attach it to. In fact, it is
usually the ﬁrst person singular of the verb, without -o (veng(o),
dic(o)).
But what about friends? Alberto said to Marisa: senti. But you
have not met other forms yet, as you have mostly met formal
conversations. The rule is:
Informal form
-are verbs: -a
All other verbs: -i
scusa
gira
parla
senti
98
Unit 6: Appuntamenti
You may have observed that it is exactly the opposite of the
formal form and wonder how to get it right. We suggest that you
choose two imperatives you hear frequently in Italy and make them
your models. For example, scusare and sentire. Your friends will
say to you: Oh scusa, Joe/Mary/Mike/Ann (substitute your own
name). In the street people you don’t know will say: Scusi, signore/
signora/signorina, as appropriate. Similarly friends will attract your
attention by saying: Senti, Joe etc., and people you do not know
well will say: Senta, signore etc. These two make excellent models.
Other verbs you commonly hear are:
-are verbs
tu
guarda
aspetta
Lei
guardi
aspetti
Joe
signore
Other verbs
tu
prendi
abbi pazienza
vieni
di’
Lei
prenda
abbia pazienza1
venga
dica
tu
fa’
va’
da’
Lei
faccia
vada
dia
1 lit. ‘have patience’, i.e. ‘be patient’.
In fact, for regular -ere and -ire verbs, the tu form of the present
is also the imperative form. This is also true for some irregular
verbs (e.g. vieni). In the case of dire, fare, andare and dare, the
full form is usually abbreviated, as (’) shows.
Andiamo! ‘Let’s go!’
To include yourself in a suggestion, you use the noi form of the
verb, but without noi. This is also an imperative.
Telefoniamo a Gianni!
Mangiamo alle otto!
Facciamo gli spaghetti!
Let’s call/phone Gianni!
Let’s eat at 8 o’clock!
Let’s make spaghetti!
To tell several people to do something, you use the voi form of
the verb, again without voi.
Andate presto!
Go quickly!
Unit 6: Engagements
99
Telling someone not to do something
You simply use non and the verb:
Non dica questo.
Non giri a sinistra, vada dritto.
However, when you are using tu, you use non + inﬁnitive:
Non dire questo.
Non girare, va’ dritto.
Exercise 8
You and your friend Mario are on your way, by car, to Giorgio’s
house. You know the way and Mario, who is driving, doesn’t, so
you have to give him directions. The verbs have been left out.
Choose the correct ones from the list that follows to make sense
of your instructions. You may use two of them twice. As Mario is
a friend, you use tu when talking to him.
rallenta
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
prendi girare va’ gira
facciamo cerca andare
sta’
_____ la seconda sulla destra.
Qui, _____ a destra.
E poi _____ sempre dritto un po’.
Non _____ troppo veloce.
Ora al semaforo _____ a sinistra.
_____ sempre sulla sinistra perché devi girare di nuovo.
No, non _____ qui.
Ecco _____ un po’.
_____ questa via.
_____ un parcheggio in questa piazza.
_____ l’ultimo pezzo a piedi perché non si può parcheggiare.
Exercise 9
There’s an air trafﬁc controllers’ strike – again. You are an airline
employee and a passenger wants information about his ﬂight.
YOU: (1)
(Yes,) signore. (Say ‘tell me’, using dire, indicating
you are ready to listen.)
PASSENGER: Quando parte il mio volo?
100
Unit 6: Appuntamenti
YOU:
(2) (Give me) il biglietto per favore. Mi dispiace,
signore, il volo per Amsterdam ha due ore di ritardo.
PASSENGER: Ma non è possibile! Devo essere a Amsterdam a
mezzogiorno.
YOU:
(3) (Be patient), signore. (4) (Forgive me). Non posso
fare niente. (5) (Make yourself comfortable) al bar
o nel ristorante. (6) (Wait) con calma . . .
Exercise 10
Compose a text message (SMS) to someone in your ofﬁce saying
your ﬂight to Amsterdam is two hours late and asking them to
phone your hotel to warn them.
Reading
La domenica in Italia
1 Why is it difﬁcult for families to be together on Saturdays?
2 Can you list ﬁve activities that an Italian family might be
engaged in during a winter Sunday?
3 Where do many people enjoy going on summer Sundays?
La domenica è un giorno molto importante per gli Italiani. Il sabato
molti adulti non lavorano ma i bambini sono a scuola la mattina.
La domenica è dunque il giorno in cui tutti i membri della famiglia
sono a casa. Spesso il venerdì o il sabato, si sente l’augurio ‘Buona
domenica!’. La domenica è il giorno in cui si invitano i familiari a
pranzo a mezzogiorno. Il pomeriggio si va a fare una passeggiata
in campagna o nei parchi o semplicemente si passeggia lungo la
via principale della città, che è spesso zona pedonale. Certe
persone, invece, d’inverno preferiscono passare il pomeriggio al
cinema. Durante la stagione calcistica, i tifosi vanno allo stadio
a vedere la partita. Se però devono accompagnare la famiglia a
spasso, seguono la partita alla radio. E’ divertente vedere questi
signori camminare con la radiolina all’orecchio per seguire, anche
da lontano, la loro squadra. In inverno dalle città del nord c’è
l’esodo verso la montagna per sciare; invece d’estate sono il mare
e la campagna che attirano i gitanti. La sera, sulle strade che vanno
in città, qualsiasi città, si formano code di automobilisti che tornano
Unit 6: Engagements
101
per prepararsi a una nuova settimana di lavoro. Il lunedì arriva
sempre troppo presto.
Vocabulary
dunque
spesso
i familiari
pedonale
pedoni
spasso
esodo
una gita
casa
so, therefore
often
relatives
trafﬁc-free, reserved
for pedestrians
pedestrians
walk or outing
for pleasure
exodus
a trip, an excursion
house, home
augurio
(auguri!
il calcio
calcistico
un tifoso
camminare
wish, greeting
best wishes!)
soccer
to do with
soccer
a fan
to walk
orecchio
un gitante
una coda
ear
tripper
a queue
7 Giriamo
Let’s get out and about
In this unit you will learn about:
• Booking into hotels
• Saying it doesn’t matter, non importa
• The plural of nouns and adjectives ending in -co and -go, -ca
and -ga
• The verb uscire ‘to go out’
• Saying you are going to do something: andare a fare . . .
• Shopping for food and for clothes – and for computers
• Saying you need something, asking if someone needs
something else, and saying you have enough
• Weights and measures
• Plurals of nouns ending in -cia and -gia
• Talking about colours
Dialogue 1
All’albergo (1)
Frances is touring Italy with her husband and another couple. They
haven’t booked accommodation because it’s low season. Frances has
been delegated to go into the Albergo della Fontana in a little Tuscan
town to see whether they have rooms for tonight.
1 How many rooms does Frances want?
2 What are the important points about the rooms for her and her
party?
3 Before deciding to take the rooms what does she ask to do?
DIRETTORE:
FRANCES:
DIRETTORE:
Buona sera, signora, desidera?
Avete una camera?
Sì, signora. Una camera singola o doppia?
Unit 7: Let’s get out and about
FRANCES:
DIRETTORE:
FRANCES:
DIRETTORE:
FRANCES:
DIRETTORE:
FRANCES:
DIRETTORE:
FRANCES:
DIRETTORE:
In realtà, vorrei due camere, due camere doppie.
Una per me e mio marito, una per i nostri amici.
Preferite un letto matrimoniale o due letti?
Veramente non importa.
Con bagno o senza?
Oh, con bagno, per favore. E preferiamo camere
tranquille.
Certo, signora. Per una notte?
No, per due notti.
Abbiamo due camere tranquille. Danno sul cortile
dietro l’albergo. Ma qui in ogni modo c’è poco
trafﬁco.
Potrei vedere le camere?
Senz’altro. Prendo le chiavi. Venga pure.
Vocabulary
i nostri amici
veramente
danno sul cortile
in ogni modo
senz’altro
our friends
really (vero means ‘true’; lit. ‘truly’)
they overlook the courtyard (implied ‘at the
back of the hotel’)
in any case
c’è poco trafﬁco there’s not much
of course
trafﬁc
More vocabulary for hotels
una camera singola/doppia
una camera a un letto
a due letti
matrimoniale
con bagno
doccia
aria condizionata
a
a
a
a
single/double room
single room (room with one bed)
double (room with two beds)
room with a double bed
(Italian double beds are generous)
with bath
shower
air-conditioning
Cultural point
Quite often Italian hotels do not have a dining room, so some
hotels have a room charge without breakfast. They can usually
provide a continental breakfast, however some guests may prefer
to go to a nearby bar. The bar is the place to go for really good
coffee (see Unit 1). If your hotel does not have a restaurant, that
103
104
Unit 7: Giriamo
leaves you free to try a variety places to eat during your stay.
And you may well ﬁnd you eat better than you would have done
in a hotel.
Language points
non importa ‘it doesn’t matter’
non importa means ‘it doesn’t matter, it’s not important’. importa
is a verb (importare), and the subject (which is not stated) is ‘it’.
A verb used in this way is called an impersonal verb, that is, the
subject is not a person. Look out for others.
The plural of nouns and adjectives ending
in -co and -go, -ca and -ga
Most nouns and adjectives ending in -go keep the hard g sound in
the plural and therefore insert an h to indicate this:
un albergo
due alberghi
Nouns ending in -co are less predictable. Generally speaking those
in which the penultimate syllable bears the main stress keep the
hard c and therefore insert an h:
un arco etrusco
un vino bianco
due archi etruschi
due vini bianchi
Exception:
un amico
due amici
When the stress is on the antepenultimate syllable, however, there
is usually a sound change:
un medico simpatico
due medici simpatici
Note: Feminine nouns and adjectives in the feminine ending in
-ca and -ga all keep the hard sound and insert the h, including:
un’amica
due amiche
These points fall into place the more Italian you hear. Lists of
exceptions are confusing for the beginner, so we are not giving
them here. However, amico is such a common word, you should
learn it. And remember: if in doubt, consult a dictionary. At this
Unit 7: Let’s get out and about
105
stage don’t worry too much, as mistakes do not usually impair
communication. As your Italian becomes more sophisticated you
can gradually aim to get these details correct.
Exercise 1
In the hotel conversation singulars and plurals were used:
una camera
due camere
un letto due letti
Here are some more words, sometimes with adjectives, to put into
the plural (remind yourself of the forms ﬁrst, Unit 5). In numbers
1 to 8, change to two of everything.
Example: un letto
Answer: due letti
1
2
3
4
un giorno
una settimana
un mese interessante
un nuovo progetto
5
6
7
8
una banca
un giornale
un cappuccino
una birra
In the next group you have deﬁnite articles (‘the’). Make the whole
word group plural.
Example: il francobollo francese
Answer: i francobolli francesi
9
10
11
12
il nuovo ﬁlm
lo spettacolo
il giornale interessante
il supermercato francese
13
14
15
16
la nuova galleria
la strada che va in città
l’adulto responsabile
il vino rosso
Dialogue 2
All’albergo (2)
Having satisﬁed herself the rooms are pleasant, Frances continues
the conversation.
1 What is and what is not included in the price?
2 Where is the garage?
FRANCES:
Qual è il prezzo di una camera per una notte?
DIRETTORE: 105 euro, signora.
106
Unit 7: Giriamo
FRANCES:
E’ inclusa la colazione?
DIRETTORE: No, signora. Sono inclusi le tasse e il servizio, ma la
colazione non è compresa nel prezzo.
FRANCES:
Va bene. Vado a chiamare mio marito e i nostri
amici. Oh, c’è un garage?
DIRETTORE: Sì, signora. Quando esce, giri a sinistra. Poi deve
passare sotto l’arco, a sinistra. Il garage è dietro
l’albergo, in fondo al cortile. Posso avere un documento, per cortesia?
FRANCES:
Ecco il mio passaporto.
Vocabulary
compreso, incluso
quando esce
in fondo a
per cortesia
un documento
included (very similar in meaning, from
comprendere, includere)
when you go out
at the bottom of, at the end of
please (this is another way of saying ‘please’,
as is per piacere)
an identiﬁcation document (usually a passport
or an identity card)
Unit 7: Let’s get out and about
Language points
Using uscire ‘to go out’
esco
esci
esce
usciamo
uscite
escono
Using andare
Vado a chiamare mio marito
When you say you are going to do something, you need to use a
after andare, before the second verb.
Vado a mangiare.
I am going to eat.
Andate a vedere il nuovo ﬁlm?
Are you going to see the new ﬁlm?
Va a lavorare.
He/she is going to work.
Exercise 2
Joe McDonald needs to book into a hotel for the night. Here is
his conversation with the receptionist. Unfortunately the printer
has got the order all wrong and forgotten to indicate whether Joe
or the receptionist is talking. Can you sort it out so that it makes
sense?
1 Per quante notti?
2 Singola o doppia?
3 60 euro.
4 Abbiamo una singola con doccia. Va bene?
5 E’ compresa la colazione?
6 Ecco la chiave. E’ il numero 32.
7 Va bene.
8 Buona sera. Avete una camera?
107
108
Unit 7: Giriamo
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
No, non è compresa.
Una notte.
Grazie.
Posso avere un documento?
Singola.
Qual è il prezzo?
Certo, ecco la mia carta d’identità.
Dialogue 3
Vorrei un po’ di frutta
Mrs Rossi is shopping for fruit and vegetables.
1 The fruit seller says the small oranges have certain qualities.
What are they?
2 Which other fruit does she want?
3 How much will her apples cost her?
FRUTTIVENDOLO: Buongiorno, signora. Desidera?
Buongiorno. Vorrei un po’ di frutta. Quanto
SIG.RA ROSSI:
costano le arance?
FRUTTIVENDOLO: 1 euro e 49 centesimi al chilo le grandi, 1,19 le
piccole. Sono molto dolci, quelle piccole, ottime
per la spremuta.
Allora, un chilo. E ho bisogno anche di banane.
SIG.RA ROSSI:
FRUTTIVENDOLO: Quante?
SIG.RA ROSSI:
Cinque o sei. Ecco, così va bene. E due
pompelmi.
FRUTTIVENDOLO: Benissimo, signora. Altro?
Ci sono delle mele buone?
SIG.RA ROSSI:
FRUTTIVENDOLO: Queste a 1,96 al chilo, del Trentino, sono molto
buone.
SIG.RA ROSSI:
Mezzo chilo, per favore.
FRUTTIVENDOLO: Ecco. E poi?
Basta così per oggi. Quant’è?
SIG.RA ROSSI:
FRUTTIVENDOLO: 3 euro e 75 centesimi, signora.
Ecco (giving him a 10 euro note).
SIG.RA ROSSI:
FRUTTIVENDOLO: Quattro, cinque e cinque, dieci. Grazie, signora,
arrivederLa, buongiorno.
Unit 7: Let’s get out and about
Vocabulary
ho bisogno di
del Trentino
basta così
I need (see below)
from the Trentino (in northern Italy)
that’ll be all (lit. ‘it’s enough like that’)
Shop in the Mercato di Mezzo, Bologna.
Courtesy EPT Emilia Romagna.
109
110
Unit 7: Giriamo
Language points
Using avere bisogno di
Ho bisogno di . . .
avere bisogno di (lit. ‘to have need of’) corresponds to the English
‘to need’:
Ho bisogno di francobolli.
I need some (postage) stamps.
Ho bisogno di sapere la risposta.
I need to know the answer.
Hai bisogno di me?
Do you need me?
Using altro?
When asking a customer if she (he) needs anything else a shopkeeper may say altro? which means ‘anything else?’ in this context.
altro is the word for ‘other’:
un altro caffè
l’altro giorno
another coffee
the other day
Take note of the way you say ‘two, three’ etc. and ‘more/other’:
altri due caffè
altre tre persone
two more coffees
three other people
Other ways of encouraging the customer to buy more are:
E poi?
Dopo?
E’ tutto?
And then? Next?
After (that)?
Is that all?
And ways of saying ‘no’ are:
No, grazie
Basta, grazie
No, thank you
That’s all, thanks
No, basta così
No, va bene così
No (lit. ‘it’s sufﬁcient like that’)
No (lit. ‘it’s all right like that’)
così means ‘in this way, in that way, thus’.
Unit 7: Let’s get out and about
Using basta
bastare is a verb but normally used only in the third person singular
and plural. It can have a speciﬁc subject:
Bastano queste banane?
Are these enough bananas?
Bastano dieci euro?
Are 10 euros enough?
Or it can be used impersonally followed by an inﬁnitive or a noun:
Basta chiedere.
It’s sufﬁcient to ask.
(i.e. ‘All you need do is ask’.)
– E’ lontano. Si può arrivare in una giornata?
– It’s a long way. Can one get there in one day?
– Basta partire presto.
– So long as one starts early.
(lit. ‘All you need do is start early’.)
Basta telefonare.
All you need to do is telephone.
Or, from a leaﬂet about cancer prevention:
Basta una telefonata per prenotare una visita preventiva
gratuita per te e per i tuoi cari . . .
All it needs is a telephone call to book a free check-up for you
and your loved ones . . .
Weights and measures
The metric system is used in Italy, as elsewhere in Europe. For
weight, the basic measures are the gram (grammo) and the kilogram (chilogrammo), 1,000 grams. Lightweight items such as ham,
sweets/candies, are sold by the etto. Un etto = 100 grams, which
is just under 4 oz. So you have:
un etto
= 100 grammi
mezzo chilo = 5 etti = 500 grammi
un chilo = 1.000 grammi
111
112
Unit 7: Giriamo
The liquid measure is the litre:
un litro
mezzo litro
un quarto (di litro)
la frutta ‘fruit’
The word frutta is similar to the English collective noun ‘fruit’, i.e.
you do not usually use it in the plural. In season, the following are
commonly found (the singular is given for clarity):
l’albicocca
la ciliegia
il limone
il melone
la pesca
la prugna
l’uva
apricot
l’arancia
orange
cherry
la fragola
strawberry
lemon
la mela
apple
melon
la pera
pear
peach
il pompelmo
grapefruit
plum
la susina
plum (also)
grapes (uva is a singular noun meaning ‘grapes’):
L’uva è molto buona.
The grapes are very good.
Un chilo di uva bianca, per piacere.
A kilo of white grapes, please.
Plurals of nouns ending in -cia, -gia
A stressed -i remains in the plural:
la farmacia
le farmacie
un’allergia
molte allergie
If the -i- is there only to show that the -c- or -g- is soft, then:
(a) -cia, -gia, preceded by a vowel becomes -cie, -gie:
una ciliegia
un chilo di ciliegie
(b) -cia, -gia, preceded by a consonant becomes -ce, -ge:
un’arancia
un chilo di arance
Unit 7: Let’s get out and about
Difﬁcult? Yes, but we needed to tell you before the next exercise.
When you are speaking Italian, in the case of (a) and (b) it makes
no difference to the sound, so don’t worry. But, in the next exercise, try to get it right, while it is fresh in your mind. You can
always look it up when you have to write.
Exercise 3
You are at a fruit stall in a market. Ask how much the fruits listed
above cost. There is one ‘trick question’ – watch out for it.
Dialogue 4
Ho bisogno di formaggio
Mrs Rossi is in a grocer’s shop.
1 How much ‘pecorino’ does Mrs Rossi buy?
2 What else does she buy besides cheese?
COMMESSO:
SIG.RA ROSSI:
COMMESSO:
SIG.RA ROSSI:
COMMESSO:
SIG.RA ROSSI:
COMMESSO:
SIG.RA ROSSI:
COMMESSO:
SIG.RA ROSSI:
COMMESSO:
SIG.RA ROSSI:
COMMESSO:
Buongiorno, signora, desidera?
Ho bisogno di formaggio oggi. C’è del pecorino?
Dolce o piccante?
Piccante. Tre etti.
Ecco. Altro?
Sì. Del prosciutto crudo.
Prosciutto di Parma o nostrano?
Quanto costano?
Il nostrano 32 euro e 90 centesimi al chilo, quello
di Parma 35,60. E’ molto buono quello nostrano.
Allora lo prendo. Basta un etto.
Slices some and then weighs it
120 grammi. Va bene così?
Sì, va bene. Quant’è?
4 euro e 30 centesimi il pecorino. E poi, 3,30 il
prosciutto. 7,60 in tutto. Grazie, arrivederLa.
Buongiorno.
113
114
Unit 7: Giriamo
Cultural point
Italy boasts a wide variety of cheeses. The Po Plain produces grana
padano and parmigiano reggiano, which are very similar to each
other. They are both made from cow’s milk and are fairly hard,
depending on how long they have been matured; more importantly, maturing affects the ﬂavour. Another popular cheese is
pecorino, which is made with ewes’ milk. According to how long
it has been matured it is dolce ‘mild’ or piccante ‘strong ﬂavoured’.
All these cheeses are used for grating as well as being delicious
eaten as cheese. Grated cheese is much used in Italian cooking, on
pasta, risotto, soups etc. Another very special Italian speciality is
prosciutto crudo, cured ham. It is usually known in English as
‘Parma ham’ although ham is cured in a similar way in other parts
of Italy; prosciutto can also be cotto ‘cooked’.
Exercise 4
Say out loud and then write down in words the prices in Dialogue 4.
Language points
The partitive, ‘some . . .’
To express the idea ‘some’ (‘not all’) of something, you use the
articulated preposition del, i.e. di + the deﬁnite article:
del formaggio
delle mele
del prosciutto
some cheese
some apples
some ham
Prices
When giving the price ‘per kilo, per litre’ etc. Italian uses: al chilo,
al litro:
30 euro al chilo
Unit 7: Let’s get out and about
115
Exercise 5
Sig.ra Rossi has made a shopping list. How would she tell the shop
assistant she wants some of the following?
Example: banane
Answer: Vorrei delle banane
1
2
3
4
5
limoni
francobolli
caffè
formaggio
uva
6
7
8
9
acqua minerale
arance
pesche
pane
Quantity
When you specify a quantity, however, you just use di:
un
un
un
un
chilo di mele
litro di vino
po’ di formaggio
etto di prosciutto
Dialogue 5
Ci sono altri colori?
Joe, in Florence, wants to buy presents to take home. He, like many
other tourists, goes to the very large street market near the church
of San Lorenzo. He is looking at sweaters (‘a sweater’ is una
maglia), with his young sister in mind. There is one he likes
displayed on a stall.
1 Who does the salesgirl assume he is buying for?
2 What colour sweater catches his eye?
3 Why does he take an ‘L’?
JOE:
VENDITRICE:
(trying to attract the salesperson’s attention) Senta!
Posso vedere quella maglia?
Sì, signore. E’ molto bella, questa maglia. Fatta a
mano.
116
Unit 7: Giriamo
JOE:
VENDITRICE:
JOE:
VENDITRICE:
JOE:
VENDITRICE:
JOE:
VENDITRICE:
JOE:
Quanto costa?
Solo 30 euro. E’ per Sua moglie?
No, per mia sorella. Ha 16 anni. Ci sono altri
colori?
(pointing to a pile of sweaters) Sì signore. Guardi.
C’è verde, rosa, blu, beige . . .
Mi piace quella verde.
Sua sorella, com’è? Di che misura ha bisogno?
Le piace portare le maglie grandi.
Allora deve prendere una “L”.
Va bene. Prendo quella verde.
Vocabulary notes
fatto/a a mano ‘handmade’ (made by hand)
misura ‘size’ (used for clothes, shoes etc.)
Language point
Colours, i colori
The singular of i colori is il colore.
azzurro
bianco
giallo
grigio
nero
rosso
blue (darker than celeste)
white
yellow
grey
black
red
celeste
arancione
marrone
verde
blue (sky blue, paler than azzurro)
orange
brown
green
blu
rosa
viola
dark or navy blue
pink
violet
The colours have been grouped above according to the way the
adjectives work. The ones in the ﬁrst group have four forms: rosso,
rossa, rossi, rosse:
buoni vini rossi
good red wines
Unit 7: Let’s get out and about
117
Those in the second group have two forms: verde, verdi:
una mela verde
due mele verdi
one (a) green apple
two green apples
Those in the last group have one form only:
una maglia blu
due maglie blu
a dark blue sweater
two dark blue sweaters
Note: chiaro ‘light’ (when used of a colour), also ‘clear’; scuro ‘dark’.
verde chiaro
light green
verde scuro
dark green
Exercise 6
It takes a while to absorb verb forms. Here is some more practice.
The verb is given in the inﬁnitive. Write the correct form for the
various subjects suggested. Where it might be more usual to leave
the subject pronoun out, it is put in brackets.
Example: lavorare
Carlo. Carlo lavora. Anna e Paola.
Anna e Paola lavorano.
1 comprare
Anna, che cosa (a) _____ (tu)?
Io (b) _____ un libro.
Gianna, tu e Piero, che cosa (c) _____?
(Noi) (d) _____ una maglia per Piero.
2 leggere
Io (a) _____ poco. Non ho tempo.
Paolo invece (b) _____ molto.
Si dice che gli Italiani (c) _____ poco. Non so se è vero.
3 preferire
Io (a) _____ la maglia rossa.
Giorgio invece (b) _____ quella celeste.
4 parlare
Questi studenti (a) _____ russo, francese e italiano.
Io invece (b) _____ solo italiano.
Mario (c) _____ inglese e francese?
E tu? (d) _____ un’altra lingua?
118
Unit 7: Giriamo
5 vivere
Giorgio e Anna (a) _____ in città.
Noi (b) _____ in campagna.
Reading
Il mio primo computer
Il pc ideale per un bambino? Processore di ultima generazione e
memoria potente. Inutile, invece, il modello più recente.
1 This is part of an article in a women’s magazine. It is about
buying a computer. For what sort of use?
2 In the last sentence, what is buying a computer for the
purpose described compared to?
Con l’inizio della scuola è bene che il bambino impari a usare il pc
vero e proprio, magari con mouse e tastiera sempliﬁcati. “Per un
bimbo tra i 7 e gli 11 anni è sufﬁciente un pc di media potenza, ﬁsso
(i portatili costano di più e sono più delicati), con stampante a
getto di inchiostro, cd rom, scheda audio e casse, modem per poter
navigare in internet,” spiega l’esperto. “Veriﬁcate che la macchina
sia dotata di processore di ultima generazione e abbia una memoria Ram almeno di 128 Megabyte, meglio se è più alta, altrimenti
si rischia di non poter utilizzare cd rom e giochi elettronici.”
Trappole
“Non cadete nell’errore di rincorrere il modello più recente. La
differenza reale tra il più potente dei pc è nell’ordine della frazione
di secondo. Attenzione piuttosto alla garanzia e alla serietà del
rivenditore . . . Spiegate chiaramente al venditore l’uso che intendete farne . . . E ricordate che per andare a fare la spesa non c’è
bisogno della Ferrari, basta una Cinquecento.”
(Anna, Family Life section, 18 febbraio 2003)
Vocabulary notes
inutile ‘useless’. Opposite of utile ‘useful’.
bambino, bimbo ‘child’. There is a feminine form, ending in -a.
When used in a general way, as here, the masculine includes the
feminine.
Unit 7: Let’s get out and about
vero e proprio ‘proper’ ( lit. ‘real and proper’). An earlier part of the
article, not included here, talked about toy computers for pre-school
children.
dotato/a di ‘equipped, provided with’
si rischia ‘one risks’ (rischiare ‘to risk’)
non cadete nell’errore ‘don’t fall into the error of . . .’ (cadere ‘to fall’)
nell’ordine della frazione di secondo ‘in the order of a fraction of a
second’
l’uso che intendete farne ‘the use you intend to make of it’
ricordate ‘remember’ (ricordare ‘to remember’)
Computer vocabulary notes
You will recognize as English much of Italian computer vocabulary.
Here are some words you may not have been able to guess:
tastiera ‘keyboard’
media potenza ‘medium power’
ﬁsso ‘ﬁxed’. In this case ‘desktop’.
portatile ‘portable’. An adjective used as the noun for laptop
(computer).
stampante (f.) ‘printer’ (stampare ‘to print’)
getto di inchiostro ‘ink-jet’ (laser ‘laser’)
scheda audio ‘audio card’ (cf. scheda telefonica)
casse ‘loudspeakers’
navigare in internet ‘to surf the internet’
ultima generazione ‘last generation’. We would probably say ‘latest
generation’.
memoria ‘memory’
giochi elettronici ‘computer games’ (un gioco)
Shopping vocabulary notes
veriﬁcare ‘to check’
attenzione ‘be careful’
garanzia ‘guarantee’
serietà ‘trustworthiness’ (in this context). A rivenditore serio is one
who can be trusted.
rivenditore ‘retailer’ (in this context). Really a reseller, i.e. seller of
second-hand goods.
venditore ‘salesman’
fare la spesa ‘to do the shopping’. Usually implies the regular
household shopping.
119
120
Unit 7: Giriamo
Unusual verb forms
There are three examples in this passage of the present subjunctive. They need not worry you and possibly you did not notice
them. They are impari (ﬁrst line), sia and abbia. You will probably agree that the meaning is guessable. We will deal with them
later in the book.
8 Un po’ di
geograﬁa
A little geography
In this unit you will learn about:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The basics of the geography of Italy
Vocabulary for landscape and places, distances and area
Forming the past participle e.g. cultivated, walked
The passive
Adverbs
Expressing your likes – mi piacciono, mi piacerebbe
Personal pronouns, indirect object form (‘to me, to him’)
Using c’è/ci sono, ‘there is’/’there are’
The ‘north/south divide’
Reading 1
Un po’ di geograﬁa
On the following page is a map of Italy. Use it, and the text on
p. 123, to answer the questions below.
Are the following statements true or false?
1 The summit of Mont Blanc is in Italy.
2 The highest mountains in Europe are to be found in the
Apennines.
3 Three-quarters of Italy’s land area is ﬂat.
4 Water for crops is not a problem for agriculture on the
Po Plain.
5 Milan and Turin have recently developed manufacturing
industry.
6 The Alps are volcanic mountains.
122
Unit 8: Un po’ di geograﬁa
SVIZZERA
P
L
A
I
AUSTRIA
UNGHERIA
M. Cervino
SLOVENIA
M. Rosa
M. Bianco Aosta
Milano
Trieste
SERBIA
CROAZIA
Verona
Torino
Venezia
A d ige
Po
Bologna
Genova
BOSNIA
A
FRANCIA
Nizza
N
Mar Ligure
P
P
Pisa Firenze
E
o
A rn
N
Perugia
I
N
I
Te
Elba
Mar Adriatico
ve
r
e
CORSICA
Roma
Napoli
SARDEGNIA
Ischia
Vesuvio
Mar Tirreno
Cagliari
Isole Eolie
Palermo
Etna
SICILIA
Pantelleria
Tunisi
Ma
r M
edit
erraneo
AFRICA
MALTA
Lampedusa
Italy: physical
Mar Ionio
Reggio Calabria
Unit 8: A little geography
7 Etna is an extinct volcano.
8 Sicily is the southernmost island of Italy.
9 Tourism is very important to the Italian economy.
L’Italia è una penisola a forma di stivale. Montagne e colline occupano una superﬁcie pari a oltre tre quarti del territorio italiano.
L’Italia è povera di pianure.
Al nord un arco di montagne, le Alpi, la separa dai paesi conﬁnanti. Nell’arco alpino si trovano le montagne più alte d’Europa:
il Monte Bianco, m. 4,810, il Monte Rosa, m. 4,634, e il Cervino,
m. 4,478, chiamato ‘Matterhorn’ in inglese. Di questi tre, solo il
Monte Rosa ha la cima interamente in territorio italiano.
Ai piedi delle montagne si estende da ovest ad est la Pianura
Padana, cioè del ﬁume Po. Il Po, il più grande ﬁume italiano, è
lungo 652 km. La pianura, di gran lunga la più grande d’Italia,
(46,000 km2) è irrigata dalle abbondanti acque che scendono dalle
montagne. Perciò è da secoli intensamente coltivata. Sulla ricchezza
di questa agricoltura ﬁorente è basato lo sviluppo dell’industria che
è oggi l’attività economica dominante della pianura. Città come
Milano e Torino hanno una lunga storia industriale; più recente è
lo sviluppo eccezionale in città medie di industrie varie che vanno
dall’abbigliamento e gli alimenti, ai prodotti ‘high-tec’.
La pianura è chiusa a sud da un’altra catena di montagne: gli
Appennini, che si allungano per 1,190 km. ﬁno a Reggio Calabria
e anche in Sicilia. Gli Appennini sono montagne vulcaniche. Tutti
conoscono il nome di due vulcani italiani: il Vesuvio, attualmente
inattivo, e l’Etna, ancora in attività.
La Sicilia e la Sardegna sono due grandi isole italiane. Ci sono
poi numerose isole piccole, tra cui Lampedusa, a sud-ovest dell’
isola di Malta, che è più vicina alle coste della Tunisia che a quelle
siciliane. Il mare e le isole, con le montagne e la campagna, costituiscono mete turistiche piacevolissime. Va ricordato che il turismo
è un settore importantissimo dell’economia italiana.
Vocabulary
cioè (ciò è)
di gran lunga
è da secoli coltivata
that is, i.e.
by far, by a long chalk
it has been cultivated for centuries
123
124
Unit 8: Un po’ di geograﬁa
Vocabulary for landscape and places
paese
conﬁne
frontiera
luogo
posto
città
centro
periferia
villaggio
frazione
bosco
cima
collina
costa
ﬁume
isola
pianura
spiaggia
superﬁcie
(1) country (e.g France, New Zealand);
(2) village
border, boundary
frontier
place
(1) place; (2) seat; (3) job
city, town (not necessarily very large)
centre (often centro storico, the old, central part
of a city)
outskirts, suburbs
village (as well as paese)
outlying village of a comune
wood
summit
hill
coast
river
island
plain
beach
surface
Cultural point
Italy is divided into twenty administrative regions (see map on
p. x). The regions have responsibility for matters such as regional
planning, economic development etc., though very much under
central control. Each region (regione (f.)) is divided into provinces (provincia). Provinces have more limited functions. The basic
level of local administration is the municipality (comune (m.)).
comuni vary immensely in size and include cities such as Rome
and Milan. They are now subdivided into circoscrizioni (wards)
in a move to involve people at local level. At each level of administration there is an elected council, which delegates executive
powers to a giunta, composed of assessori. The comune and giunta
are chaired by a mayor (sindaco). Mayors are now directly elected
by the citizens.
Unit 8: A little geography
125
Language points
The points of the compass
The words for the points of the compass each have corresponding
adjectives:
nord – settentrionale
est – orientale
sud – meridionale
ovest – occidentale
The compass points can be combined as in English: sud-ovest, nordest. Given the shape of Italy, it is more frequent to talk of the
north and south than east and west; the north of the country and
south are in fact very different. It is common to refer to the south
as il mezzogiorno (which also means ‘south’).
Measuring distances and area
chilometro (km)
metro (m)
un chilometro = mille metri
decimetro (dm)
un metro = cento centimetri
centimetro (cm)
un centimetro = dieci millimetri
millimetro (mm)
un chilometro quadrato (1 km2) = one square kilometre
un ettaro = 100 m2 = 2.471 acres
Past participles
These correspond to the English form ending in ‘-ed’ (e.g. ‘cultivated’, ‘irrigated’, ‘walked’, ‘talked’ etc.). The passage contained a
number:
Questa pianura è irrigata . . .
E’ intensivamente coltivata.
Sulla ricchezza . . . è basato lo sviluppo . . .
(= lo sviluppo è basato)
The past participle is formed according to the type of verb:
-are verbs:
-ere verbs:
-ire verbs:
drop -are, add -ato:
drop -ere, add -uto:
drop -ire, add -ito:
parlare
cadere
ﬁnire
parlato
caduto
ﬁnito
126
Unit 8: Un po’ di geograﬁa
In English there are irregular forms (e.g. ‘thought’, ‘seen’, ‘gone’),
and so there are in Italian, particularly in the second group. There
is a list of common ones in the ‘Grammar summary’ at the end of
the book.
Some past participles are often used as adjectives: una porta
aperta/chiusa ‘an open/shut door’. Past participles are much used
in newspaper headlines:
Città inondata, ospedale evacuato
City ﬂooded, hospital evacuated
Sulla riforma, governo battuto due volte.
Government beaten twice on the reform.
Cultural point
You may like to try reading some Italian newspapers, especially
the section called cronaca, which contains news items of a nonpolitical sort (crime, road accidents etc.), as a way of getting
language practice. Start with the headlines. Newspapers tend to be
relatively local in Italy. The best known are probably Il Corriere
della Sera, the Milan daily, and La Stampa, the Turin daily; both
date back to the nineteenth century. Much more recent is La
Repubblica, a national paper founded in the late twentieth century.
Il Sole 24 Ore is business orientated; whereas the Gazzetta dello
Sport is what it says it is, a sports daily.
The passive
The passive is formed with essere and a past participle, just as in
English it is formed with ‘to be’ and the past participle:
La pianura è coltivata.
The plain is cultivated.
Lo sviluppo è basato sulla ricchezza dell’agricoltura.
Development is based on the wealth of the agriculture.
Il servizio è incluso.
Service is included.
Note: The past participle agrees with the subject, behaving like an
adjective.
Unit 8: A little geography
To say who or what things were done by, i.e. to express the
agent, use da:
L’albergo è gestito dal proprietario.
The hotel is managed by the owner.
La pianura è circondata da montagne.
The plain is surrounded by mountains.
A common use is after deve essere, può essere:
Il lavoro deve essere ﬁnito domani.
The work must be ﬁnished tomorrow
Exercise 1
You are a busy executive and are getting your secretary organized.
How will you tell him/her:
1 The fax must be sent this morning.
(spedire un fax)
2 The meeting can be organized for Monday.
(organizzare una riunione)
3 The hotel can be booked by telephone.
(prenotare un albergo)
4 The booking can be conﬁrmed by fax.
(confermare una prenotazione)
5 The tickets must be collected at midday.
(ritirare i biglietti)
6 Rome can be informed by fax.
(informare Roma via fax)
7 The taxi can be called in (fra) 10 minutes.
(chiamare un taxi)
You need not worry too much about the passive as it works the
same way as the passive in English. It tends to belong to formal
language. We shall meet it and the past participle again. However,
don’t forget impersonal si. We met it in Unit 4 and it often conveys
ideas which in English would be in the passive:
Qui si parla italiano.
Italian is spoken here.
Come si scrive questa parola?
How is this word written/spelt?
127
128
Unit 8: Un po’ di geograﬁa
Cultural point
Several times in the year a public holiday falls close to a weekend
and Italians, and others working in Italy, like to make a long
weekend of it, taking a holiday on the days between the weekend
and the public holiday. This is called: fare il ponte, making a bridge.
Dialogue 1
Fare il ponte nel Bel Paese
Here, George, an American working temporarily in Milan, asks a
colleague for advice about how he and Jane, his wife, might spend
the long weekend.
1
2
3
4
5
Why does George ask Andrea for advice?
What does George want to avoid?
What conﬂict is there between George’s and Jane’s interests?
In which town is there a Roman arena?
What is the name of the really restful place Andrea suggests?
GEORGE:
ANDREA:
GEORGE:
ANDREA:
GEORGE:
ANDREA:
Senti, Andrea, mi puoi dare un consiglio? Vorrei
suggerimenti per il ﬁne settimana del 25 aprile. Jane
ed io abbiamo pensato di fare il ponte e partire per
quattro o cinque giorni. Tu che conosci bene l’Italia,
che cosa mi suggerisci? Vogliamo a tutti i costi andare
via e cambiare aria.
Cosa preferite, città o campagna? Un lago forse? O il
mare? C’è anche la montagna.
A Jane piace visitare le città. S’interessa molto di
architettura, di cose antiche. Io vorrei riposarmi, non
vorrei passare troppo tempo in macchina. E mi piacciono di più i posti tranquilli, i paesi piccoli, i panorami
belli.
Perché non andate nel Veneto?
Conosciamo già Venezia e ci piacerebbe evitare posti
troppo affollati.
Appunto. Nel Veneto puoi trovare città per Jane e
posti più tranquilli per te. Ad esempio, Verona è una
città vivacissima, ricca di monumenti.
Unit 8: A little geography
Verona, the Roman Arena. Courtesy Archivio Provincia di Verona.
129
130
Unit 8: Un po’ di geograﬁa
GEORGE:
ANDREA:
GEORGE:
Davvero? Che cosa c’è da vedere a Verona?
C’è l’Arena, un anﬁteatro romano, c’è la chiesa di S.
Zeno, romanica, bellissima; ci sono anche altri monumenti e tanti angoli pittoreschi. Poi potreste continuare
verso Vicenza e vedere qualche opera del Palladio.*
Per te c’è Marostica, una cittadina medievale; c’è
Asolo, un posto veramente riposante, in una bellissima
posizione in collina. E poi . . .
Vedo che non mancano le possibilità; grazie.
* Palladio was a Renaissance architect.
Language points
Using -issimo/-issima
bellissimo/bellissima
Often, instead of using the word molto to convey the idea ‘very’,
Italians use -issimo/-issima. Just remove the ﬁnal vowel of the
adjective and add -issimo/-issima.
Exercise 2
Jane and George are telling someone about their weekend. George
echoes everything Jane says.
Example: J: Verona è una città molto interessante.
G: Interessantissima.
J: Il Veneto è molto bello.
G: (1) _________
J: Marostica è una cittadina molto simpatica.
G: (2) _________
J: Asolo è un posto molto tranquillo.
G: (3) _________
J: Le ville del Palladio sono molto eleganti.
G: (4) _________
J: E’ stato un weekend molto piacevole.
G: (5) _________
Unit 8: A little geography
131
Adverbs
To form an adverb, add -mente to the feminine of the adjective:
lento/a
lentamente
Adjectives ending in -e:
semplice
semplicemente
Adjectives ending in -ale and -are lose the -e:
ﬁnale
attuale
regolare
ﬁnalmente
attualmente
regolarmente
Common adverbs not formed from adjectives are:
bene
presto
spesso
well
quickly
often
male
sempre
subito
badly
always
at once
-issimo can be added to four of these adverbs:
bene
male
sto benissimo
canta malissimo
spesso
presto
viene spessissimo
partiamo prestissimo
Note: molto can be an adverb and an adjective. As an adverb it is
invariable.
I libri sono molto interessanti. (adv.)
The books are very interesting.
Ho molti libri sulla geograﬁa italiana. (adj.)
I have lots of books on Italian geography.
Exercise 3
Complete these statements inserting an adverb formed from the
adjective given:
1
2
3
4
5
6
La porta si chiude _____ (automatico).
Anna è contenta e canta _____ mentre lavora (allegro).
Non hanno molto tempo e così mangiano _____ (veloce).
Il treno viaggia _____ (lento).
Il dottor Rossi fa molto _____ (buono) il suo lavoro.
Anna mi telefona _____ (regolare).
132
Unit 8: Un po’ di geograﬁa
Expressing your likes
mi piacciono
You will remember mi piace (see Unit 2) means ‘it is pleasing to
me’. Therefore when it is a plural thing you like, for example, quiet
places (as George does), then you have to say ‘quiet places are
pleasing to me’, mi piacciono i posti tranquilli.
Exercise 4
How would you say you like:
1 Roma
2 le montagne
3 visitare monumenti storici
4 le isole piccolissime
5 questi spaghetti (spaghetti are plural, as you can see from the
form and the adjective, questi)
But what about talking about other people’s likes? You need to
be able to say ‘it is/they are pleasing to you, to him’ etc. Here’s
how:
mi
ti
gli
le
ci
vi
gli







piace/piacciono
These pronouns are called indirect object pronouns: ‘pronouns’
because they stand instead of nouns, ‘indirect object’ because they
contain the idea ‘to me’, not simply ‘me’. To express this particular idea in English, we have a direct object: ‘I like it’. But remember that in Italian what you are saying is ‘it is pleasing to me’.
Exercise 5
How would you ask: (a) a friend (i.e. using tu); (b) an acquaintance (i.e. using Lei); (c) two people (using voi):
1 Do you like Italian wines?
2 Do you like Venice?
3 Do you like studying Italian?
Unit 8: A little geography
mi piacerebbe
This means ‘it would be pleasing to me’: in other words ‘I should
like’. It is the same tense of the verb you met in vorrei ‘I should
like’. They are very similar in meaning, but you will usually use
vorrei when choosing/asking for things (e.g. when making purchases, ordering drinks, food etc.). mi piacerebbe has a plural form
for use when what you would like is plural: mi piacerebbero.
You can talk about what other people would like in the same
way as with piace:







mi
ti
gli
le
ci
vi
gli
piacerebbe/piacerebbero
mi piacerebbe is frequently followed by verbs:
Mi piacerebbe visitare le isole Tremiti.
Ci piacerebbe vedere il Vesuvio.
Exercise 6
(a) Here are some things you might like to do when you are in
Italy. Translate these sentences:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Mi piacerebbe
Mi piacerebbe
Mi piacerebbe
Mi piacerebbe
Mi piacerebbe
Mi piacerebbe
Mi piacerebbe
Eolie.
vedere il Campidoglio.
andare in gondola a Venezia.
gettare una moneta nella fontana di Trevi.
assistere ad una gara di Formula 1 a Imola.
sciare sulle pendici dell’Etna.
visitare Pompei ed Ercolano.
vedere lo Stromboli, il vulcano nelle isole
(b) Now add some suggestions of your own.
Using qualche ‘some’
Qualche opera del Palladio
This means ‘some works by Palladio’. qualche means some but it
is always followed by a singular noun:
133
134
Unit 8: Un po’ di geograﬁa
qualche volta
qualche libro
qualche cosa
sometimes
some books
something (often abbreviated to: qualcosa)
One use of da
Che cosa c’è da vedere a Verona?
Note this use of the preposition da (see Unit 6). Similarly:
Cosa c’è da fare?
What is there to do?
C’è qualcosa da mangiare?
Is there something to eat?
Cosa prende da bere?
What will you have to drink?
Using c’è, ci sono
These mean ‘there is, there are’: c’è is the same as ci è.
A Verona c’è un teatro romano.
A Venezia ci sono tanti canali.
Exercise 7
Here is a list of some of the interesting places and artefacts to be
seen in the little Tuscan town of Cortona. Answer the question:
A Cortona, che cosa c’è da vedere?, deciding whether you should
say c’è or ci sono. Translate your answers.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Il lampadario etrusco nel Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca.
La via Crucis a mosaico di Gino Severini.1
Le strade pittoresche del quartiere alto della città.
Il panorama sulla Val di Chiana.
Le opere del pittore Luca Signorelli.2
La fortezza Medicea.
I dipinti del Beato Angelico3 nel Museo Diocesano.
Unit 8: A little geography
1 Gino Severini, 1883–1966, was also born in Cortona although he lived and worked
mostly in Paris.
2 Luca Signorelli, 1445–1523, was born in Cortona.
3 Il Beato Angelico, a Dominican monk and painter, c. 1400–1455, is usually known
in English as ‘Fra Angelico’.
Reading 2
Nord–Sud
1 What is the essence of the problem of the south?
2 What six differences between north and south are quoted as
lying behind the economic differences?
3 Why might tourists be attracted to the south?
Il “problema del mezzogiorno” è da anni un’ importante questione
della politica italiana. In che cosa consiste il problema? Nel fatto
che il sud è in genere più povero del nord.
Perché? Ci sono tanti motivi: una storia diversa, costumi diversi,
un clima diverso, terreno diverso, una più lunga e più diffusa industrializzazione nel nord . . . perﬁno il fatto che il sud è più lontano
dal centro economico dell’Europa. Non solo questo, ma la forma
allungata e montagnosa dell’Italia rende difﬁcile i collegamenti
nord-sud. In più, il crimine organizzato è senza dubbio un forte
freno allo sviluppo economico del Mezzogiorno. Il problema è
molto complesso e sembra difﬁcile da risolvere.
Per il turista però le differenze sono altre. Il sud è ricco di resti
dell’antica civiltà greca, ad esempio. Ci sono città e villaggi affascinanti, paesaggi e coste bellissime e tra la gente un calore umano
che forse si perde in una società più prospera.
135
9 Buon appetito
Enjoy your meal
In this unit you will learn about:
• Italian food
• Ordering a meal
• Object pronouns, direct and indirect, e.g. ‘me, her, them’,
‘to me, to her, to them’
• Come mai? ‘How’s that?’, ‘How come?’
• Making your point clear – those little words
• viene fatto, va fatto – ‘it’s done, it should be done’ –
another form of the passive
• ci vuole, ci vogliono ‘you need, one needs’
Dialogue 1
Al ristorante
Mr and Mrs Rossi have taken Angela to one of their favourite restaurants. They are just ﬁnishing their antipasto.
1 Why does signora Rossi say ham and melon is good in the
summer?
2 How does the waiter describe the ﬁsh?
3 In spite of its name, ‘manzo alla California’ is a speciality of an
Italian region according to the waiter. Which one?
ANGELA:
SIG.RA ROSSI:
CAMERIERE:
E’ molto saporito questo prosciutto. Mi piace
moltissimo prosciutto e melone.
Sì, d’estate è buono, è leggero.
(taking plates away) E come primo, cosa prendete,
signori?
Unit 9: Enjoy your meal
SIG. ROSSI:
ANGELA:
SIG.RA ROSSI:
SIG. ROSSI:
CAMERIERE:
ANGELA:
CAMERIERE:
(consulting the menu) Cosa prende per primo,
signora? Ci sono i tortellini, il risotto, gli gnocchi,
le tagliatelle al pomodoro e basilico, al pesto . . .
(looking at her copy) Per me il passato di verdura.
Buona scelta. Lo prendo anch’io. E tu, Massimo?
Per me, il risotto.
E come secondo? Abbiamo dell’ottimo pesce
stasera. Oppure c’è un arrosto di vitello speciale
...
Che cosa è il ‘manzo alla California’?
E’ una specialità lombarda, signora. E’ uno stufato
di manzo cotto molto lentamente con aceto di vino
e panna. (They make their selection.)
Vocabulary
prosciutto e melone
passato di verdura
uno stufato di manzo
Parma ham and melon (considered a dish,
hence the singular verb)
sieved or liquidized vegetable soup
a beef stew
It is assumed readers have eaten pasta and know dishes such as
tortellini, gnocchi; they are virtually untranslatable but any book
on Italian food will explain them.
137
138
Unit 9: Buon appetito
Cultural point
i pasti del giorno ‘the meals of the day’ for Italians are prima
colazione breakfast, which some have at home: coffee or hot chocolate, or perhaps tea, plus biscuits, bread and jam – quite simple.
The main meal of the day is pranzo, sometimes eaten in the
evening. In that case the midday meal is often called colazione.
Supper is cena. There are regional variations and of course living
in a big city implies different rhythms, dictated by travelling times,
from those enjoyed by people in less congested areas. Children
usually have a snack between lunch and supper, called la merenda.
uno spuntino is a snack taken by adults between meals or can be
instead of a meal, for instance a quick snack lunch.
An Italian main meal (lunch or dinner) normally consists of il
primo (pasta, rice or soup), followed by il secondo (a meat or ﬁsh
course, which is accompanied by a contorno (vegetable)). A celebration meal or a meal out in a restaurant starts with antipasto,
then il primo, then sometimes ﬁsh, and then the meat course.
Bread, il pane, is an essential accompaniment. A family meal often
ﬁnishes with cheese and/or fruit. A dolce (dessert) is served on
special occasions. Weight- and health-conscious Italians are tending
to cut down on the number of courses in a meal nowadays. Feel
free to skip a course from time to time in a restaurant. When your
hostess has gone to the trouble of cooking it, it is rather more
delicate a matter – and often too delicious to resist.
More vocabulary notes for meals and
food
verdure
ristorante
trattoria
pizzeria
tavola calda
self-service
‘vegetables’
‘restaurant’ (usually fairly big)
‘restaurant’ (small, usually family-run)
specializes in pizza but often offers other dishes,
particularly pasta
serves ‘fast food’, Italian-style, to take away, or to eat
in the shop
just what it says: the food is usually good
There is a wide variety of ﬁsh available. Names are sometimes local
– you’ll have to to be bold and take a chance.
Unit 9: Enjoy your meal
139
Alla carta
Secondi piatti
carne
vitello
manzo
agnello
pesce
salmone
meat
veal
beef
lamb
ﬁsh
salmon
pollo
tacchino
maiale
bistecca
trota
calamaro
chicken
turkey
pork
steak
trout
squid
Contorni
carote
fagioli
funghi
porcini
peperoncini
patate
spinaci (pl.)
insalata
mista
carrots
beans (dried)
mushrooms
porcini, ceps*
chillis
potatoes
spinach
mixed salad
cipolle
fagiolini
melanzane
piselli
peperoni
pomodori
zucchini
insalata
verde
onions
French beans
aubergine, eggplant
peas
peppers
tomatoes
baby marrows
green salad
Vocabulary
odori
aglio
basilico
maggiorana
prezzemolo
rosmarino
salvia
timo
herbs
garlic
basil
marjoram
parsley
rosemary
sage
thyme
panna
polenta†
riso
cream
tartufo
sale
pepe
aceto
olio d’oliva
trufﬂe
salt
pepper
vinegar
olive oil
al forno
bollito
alla griglia
stufato
arrosto
roast, in the oven
stewed
grilled
a stew
a roast
rice
* Bolelus edulis.
†
Polenta is made with maize ﬂour and was once the staple diet of northern Italy.
It is a thick, solid paste which is cooked and then sliced. Nowadays it is served with
meat or ﬁsh dishes.
140
Unit 9: Buon appetito
cucinare
cuocere
to prepare food, cook – a person does this to food
to be subjected to heat etc., to cook – food does
this
alla ﬁorentina, alla veneziana, alla milanese etc. mean prepared
Florentine-, Venetian- or Milanese-style. Menus can be difﬁcult to
understand, partly because cooking varies from region to region
and partly because imaginative cooks invent dishes. Don’t be afraid
to ask for explanations.
Direct object pronouns (‘him, her, it,
them’)
Signora Rossi, hearing Angela order the vegetable soup, says:
Buona idea. La prendo anch’io.
A good idea. I’ll have it too.
See also Unit 5: Joe, choosing a map, said:
La prendo.
I’ll have it.
Here are some more examples:
Dov’è il giornale? Non lo vedo.
Where is the newspaper? I can’t see it.
Giorgio non vuole venire stasera. Lo capisco.
Giorgio doesn’t want to come this evening. I understand
him.
Cerco i miei occhiali. Non li trovo.
I’m looking for my glasses. I can’t ﬁnd them.
Mi piacciono molto le lasagne al forno. Le prendo.
I love lasagne. I’ll have them.
I miei nonni abitano qui vicino. Li vediamo quasi ogni
giorno.
My grandparents live near here. We see them nearly
every day.
Do you see the way the pronoun works? It depends whether the
noun being replaced is masculine or feminine, singular or plural.
Unit 9: Enjoy your meal
141
Singular
Masculine
Feminine
lo
la
Plural
him, it
her, it
li
le
them
them
Notice also that the pronoun is placed before the verb.
You have already met the indirect object pronouns. The difﬁculty for most English-speaking people is to understand the idea
of direct and indirect object. Here are a couple of examples in
English. Are the words in italic direct or indirect objects?
He sees me.
They know her.
He speaks to me.
They talk to her.
In the ﬁrst column you have a direct object, in the second, an indirect. The direct object is directly affected by the action of the
verb; the indirect object has a preposition before the pronoun. A
more complicated case in English would be:
They gave it to me.
What is it and what is to me, grammatically? They are direct and
indirect objects respectively. It was given. I beneﬁted indirectly –
it was given to me.
Exercise 1
You are having a meal in a restaurant. Your host asks you whether
you like various dishes. Say you do and that you will have it.
Example: HOST: C’è prosciutto e melone come antipasto.
Le piace?
YOU: Sì, mi piace. Lo prendo.
HOST:
YOU:
Come primo ci sono lasagne al forno. Le piacciono?
(1) _______________
HOST:
YOU:
Come secondo c’è bistecca alla ﬁorentina. Le piace?
(2) _______________
HOST:
YOU:
E come contorno, ci sono spinaci. Le piacciono?
(3) _______________
142
Unit 9: Buon appetito
Exercise 2
Things are being very irritating. You can’t see them, you can’t ﬁnd
them, you can’t understand them – and you are getting into quite
a state. You need help (aiuto). Here is what you say, in English.
But your Italian friend won’t understand if you say it that way, so
say it in Italian.
Where’s Mary’s letter? I can’t ﬁnd it. And the magazine?
I can’t see it. Where are the stamps for the postcards?
I can’t ﬁnd them. Can you see the pen? I can’t ﬁnd it.
And this bill (conto), I don’t understand it. Help!
More about object pronouns
The indirect object pronouns are:
mi
ti
gli
le
to
to
to
to
me
you
him
her, to you
ci
vi
gli
to us
to you
to them
mi, ti, ci, vi, are also direct object pronouns:
mi
ti
me
you
ci
vi
us
you
So the problem of difference arises only in the third person:
lo
la
La
li
le
him
her
you
them (m.)
them (f.)
gli
le
Le
gli
to
to
to
to
him
her
you
them (m. and f.)
Note: Confusion between gli singular and plural doesn’t arise
because you only use a pronoun when you have used a noun immediately previously. Some grammar books will mention a plural
indirect object pronoun, loro, but it is rarely used in speech.
What did you notice about the position of the object pronoun,
whether direct or indirect? It usually goes just before the verb:
Carla
Carla
mi/ti/lo/la/ci/vi/li/le
mi/ti/gli/le/ci/vi/gli
conosce molto bene
scrive ogni settimana
Note: When loro is used, it must follow the verb: Carla scrive loro.
Unit 9: Enjoy your meal
Exercise 3
Here are some sentences very similar to ones you have met. In
each case, translate the pronoun (which has been left in English).
1 Mio ﬁglio abita a Toronto. _____ scrive ogni domenica. (to me)
Quando arriva la lettera _____ leggo sempre tre o quattro volte.
(it)
2 Il signor Marini _____ conosce bene. (us) _____ dà qualche volta
delle riviste italiane. (to us)
3 (Al telefono) _____ passo subito il signor Anselmi. (to you,
formal)
4 Per la riunione _____ va bene giovedì? (to you, informal)
5 Anna è una mia carissima amica. _____vedo quasi ogni settimana. (her)
6 L’autobus _____ porta in centro. _____ lascia proprio davanti al
municipio. (you)
For question 6, try to do each sort: informal singular, formal
singular, and the plural – i.e. the object pronouns corresponding
to tu, Lei and voi.
Exercise 4
How would you say the following to an Italian friend?
1 Signor Galli knows me well. I see him every week. He telephones me often.
2 Do you know Mr and Mrs Fabrizi? Do you like them? I see
them every Sunday. I speak to them on the telephone almost
every day.
3 I am writing you a letter. I am sending you the photos (le foto)
of Gianni.
Dialogue 2
La cucina italiana
Angela enjoys cooking. She asks signora Rossi about Italian food.
1 Why, according to Mrs Rossi, is it difﬁcult to talk about Italian
cooking?
2 Why do they use rice a lot in the Po Plain?
143
144
Unit 9: Buon appetito
3 What does Mrs Rossi say Sicily produces well?
4 Why is olive oil not used in the cooking of Lombardy?
5 What is used in its place?
SIG.RA R:
ANGELA:
SIG.RA R:
ANGELA:
SIG.RA R:
CAMERIERE:
SIG.RA R:
Veramente parlare di ‘cucina italiana’ è difﬁcile.
Ancora oggi la cucina è diversa da una regione
all’altra.
Ah, sì? Come mai?
Dev’essere la geograﬁa, penso; cioè il clima e il
terreno. Ad esempio, qui nella Pianura Padana, c’è
molta acqua e ci sono risaie. Così si mangiano piatti
a base di riso, come il risotto alla milanese. Invece,
la Sicilia è molto più arida, ma anche più calda.
Produce verdure buonissime, frutta, agrumi. Allora
si usano questi in cucina.
Certo, capisco. Ci dev’essere una differenza di clima
notevole tra la Sicilia e la Lombardia.
Sì. Qui abbiamo anche bestiame e naturalmente
carne molto buona e latte, panna, formaggi e così
via. Ma non abbiamo olive, così nella nostra cucina
il burro viene usato più spesso. In quella siciliana si
usa quasi esclusivamente l’olio di oliva. Anche in
tutta l’Italia centrale si usa l’olio di oliva.
(bringing the pasta course, il primo) I passati di
verdura? Per chi sono?
Per la signora e per me. (Attention turns to the
primo.)
Vocabulary
piatti a base di riso
così via
dishes based on rice
and so on
Language points
Come mai? ‘How’s that?’, ‘How come?’
Come mai? means ‘How’s that?’, ‘Why?’, ‘How come?’. The
expression implies surprise as well as asking ‘why’. A simple ‘why’
is perché?
Unit 9: Enjoy your meal
Making your point clear
When we talk or write, we use various words to clarify and structure what we are saying or writing. They catch the ear of the foreign
learner since they seem to crop up frequently and he/she wonders
what they mean. Such words:
(a) clarify – cioè ‘that is, i.e.’: Dev’essere la geograﬁa, penso: cioè
il clima e il terreno;
(b) exemplify – ad esempio ‘for example’ (the d is added to a
because of the vowel that follows, but this is optional, a question of style; the same can be done with e ‘and’);
(c) contrast – invece ‘on the other hand, instead’;
(d) indicate the consequences – dunque ‘therefore, so’; così ‘so,
thus’: così si mangiano piatti a base di riso; così also means ‘in
this way’ (for example, Così fan tutte ‘All women behave this
way’; here fan is an abbreviation for fanno).
Other words of this sort include comunque ‘anyway, however’,
often used to introduce a ﬁnal remark that is seen as concluding
the argument:
So che non ti piace e che è difﬁcile; comunque il direttore lo
vuole così. Non c’è scelta.
I know you don’t like it and that it’s difﬁcult. However the
director wants it that way. There’s no choice.
Look out for others. They often have very minimal meaning.
Saying how things are done
viene fatto così
When saying how things are generally done, it is common to use
venire plus the past participle rather than essere. (See Unit 8 – the
passive – but don’t forget impersonal/indeﬁnite si – Unit 4.)
Il burro viene usato spesso nella cucina settentrionale.
Butter is often used in northern cookery.
145
146
Unit 9: Buon appetito
va fatto
When saying what should be done it is usual to use andare + past
participle:
L’ambiente naturale va conservato.
The natural environment should be preserved.
Il vino bianco va bevuto fresco.
White wine should be drunk chilled.
In discussions, you will hear:
Va ricordato che . . .
Va detto che . . .
It should be remembered that . . .
It should be said that . . .
Dialogue 3
Una ricetta
In the restaurant Angela pursues the topic of Italian food.
1 What kind of recipe does Angela ask for?
2 What are the ingredients for the dish Mrs Rossi describes?
3 What additions does she say would make it more authentically
Sicilian?
ANGELA:
SIG.RA R:
ANGELA:
Signora Rossi, si vede che Lei sa molto sulla cucina
italiana. Avrebbe qualche buona ricetta da darmi? Mi
piace molto la pasta.
Conosco una ricetta siciliana molto buona. In Sicilia
la pasta viene spesso servita mescolata con verdure.
Il piatto si chiama “pasta con i broccoli” o in dialetto
siciliano: “pasta chi vruoccoli”. Io lo preparo così: ci
vogliono olio, aglio, broccoli, maccheroni e parmigiano. Butto i broccoli in acqua bollente salata. Una
volta cotti, li tolgo dall’acqua e li metto in una
zuppiera con olio di oliva, aglio e parmigiano. Metto
la pasta nell’acqua dei broccoli. Quando la pasta è
cotta, la scolo e la metto sui broccoli, mescolando
velocemente. Mmm, buoni, buoni . . .
Grazie. Provo la ricetta appena torno a casa.
Unit 9: Enjoy your meal
SIG.RA R:
Per fare un piatto autenticamente siciliano ci vuole
anche un po’ di peperoncino. Si possono aggiungere
anche acciughe o sardine e perﬁno uva passa e pinoli.
Ma così come lo faccio, piace alla mia famiglia.
Vocabulary
si vede che
avrebbe qualche buona
ricetta da darmi?
mescolata (mescolare)
parmigiano
it’s clear that (lit. ‘one can see that’)
would you have some good recipes to
give me?
mixed (to mix)
Parmesan cheese (it goes without saying
here that it is grated)
butto
I throw
acqua bollente salata
boiling salted water
una volta cotti
once they are cooked
li tolgo (togliere) dall’acqua I take them out of the water
li metto in una zuppiera
I put them in a soup tureen
mescolando
tossing, mixing
si possono aggiungere
anchovies and sardines can be added
acciughe e sardine
(plural verb)
Language point
Using ci vuole, ci vogliono ‘you need,
one needs’
ci vuole un po’ di peperoncino
ci vogliono olio, aglio, broccoli ecc.
The expression means ‘you need, one needs’, but it is impersonal.
If what is needed is singular, you use ci vuole, if it is plural, ci
vogliono.
Per arrabbiarsi ci vogliono 65 muscoli, per sorridere solo 19.
Fa’ economia, sorridi!
To get angry you need 65 muscles, to smile only 19.
Economize, smile!
(Handwritten notice commonly seen in ofﬁces etc.)
si può, si possono work in a similar way – see the conversation
above.
147
10 Buone vacanze
Have a good holiday
In this unit you will learn about:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Talking about holidays
Saying where you’ve been
The family
Possessive adjectives (‘my, his, our’)
Saying how old someone is
Talking about the weather
Saying something’s about to happen
Exclamations
Dialogue 1
Vacanze in Sicilia
Enrico bumps into his friend Aldo whom he hasn’t seen for a few
weeks.
1
2
3
4
5
Why is Aldo feeling so well?
Why is Enrico surprised to learn what he has been doing?
What does Aldo recommend to Enrico and why?
What are Enrico’s holiday plans?
Aldo’s children seem to intend to spend their holidays very
constructively. What are their plans?
ENRICO:
ALDO:
ENRICO:
Ciao, Aldo, come va? E’ un po’ che non ti vedo.
Infatti, sono appena tornato dalle vacanze. E perciò
sto benissimo.
Come mai le vacanze così presto? Siamo solo al 15
maggio. Tu di solito vai all’estero in agosto.
Unit 10: Have a good holiday
ALDO:
ENRICO:
ALDO:
ENRICO:
ALDO:
ENRICO:
ALDO:
Ma quest’anno non siamo andati all’estero, siamo
rimasti in Italia. Siamo andati in Sicilia. Per questo
siamo partiti così presto, per evitare il gran caldo.
Capisco. Il tempo è stato bello?
Si, bellissimo. Non troppo caldo, ma un cielo sempre
sereno.
E la Sicilia? Non la conosco.
Guarda, è una meraviglia. C’è tanto da vedere, dai
templi greci ad Agrigento al duomo di Cefalù. E poi
dei paesaggi incantevoli e un mare spettacolare. E si
mangia bene, i vini sono ottimi. Dovresti andarci
anche tu con Anna.
Forse l’anno prossimo. Anche noi quest’anno rimaniamo in Italia. Andiamo nel Gargano a luglio. E i
ragazzi, sono venuti con voi? O sono rimasti qui per
la scuola?
Per la prima volta non sono venuti con noi. Anche per
questo siamo potuti partire presto. Infatti i ﬁgli sono
grandi ormai e quest’estate vanno via per conto loro.
Marco ha 16 anni e va a fare un corso di inglese in
Irlanda. Maria invece va in Francia a fare un corso di
vela.
The Greek temple at Segesta.
149
150
Unit 10: Buone vacanze
Vocabulary
è un po’ che non ti vedo
sono appena tornato
all’estero
dovresti andarci anche tu
per conto loro
I haven’t seen you for a while
I’ve just come back
abroad
you ought to go there too
on their own (account)
Language points
Talking about where you’ve been,
il passato prossimo
To talk about what you did in the past, or have done recently, you
use a tense called the passato prossimo ‘the near past’, usually
called the present perfect in English. For verbs that refer to coming,
going, arriving, departing, staying, the passato prossimo is formed
with the present tense of essere and the past participle:
Sono appena tornato dalle vacanze.
I have just come back from holiday.
Non siamo andati all’estero.
We didn’t go abroad.
Siamo rimasti in Italia.
We stayed in Italy.
Siamo partiti così presto.
We went away so early.
Il tempo è stato bello.
The weather was lovely.
Non sono venuti con noi.
They didn’t come with us.
Note: This is not the same as the passive. Only transitive verbs,
verbs that can have a direct object, can be used in the passive.
(Scrivo una lettera. La lettera è scritta da me.) The verbs we are
looking at here cannot have a direct object: they are intransitive.
In Italian it is impossible to say vado la città; you have to say vado
alla città or in città. You need a preposition: the object is not a
direct but an indirect object. The past participle does however
agree with the subject in the same way as in the passive:
Unit 10: Have a good holiday
Enrico è andato
Maria è andata
I bambini sono andati
Le signore sono andate



151
in Sicilia
Commonly used verbs that make their past in this way are: andare,
venire, arrivare, partire, entrare, uscire, salire, scendere, nascere,
morire, rimanere, restare, essere, all verbs to do with movement
or a state or change of state. The following have irregular past
participles:
venire
rimanere
venuto
rimasto
nascere
morire
nato
morto
Warning: The passato prossimo can be translated into English by
more than one English tense, according to circumstances (see the
examples above: ‘I have just come back . . .’, ‘we went away . . .’).
The tense systems of Italian and English are different and it is
unhelpful to hope to think from one language to the other on a
‘one-to-one’ basis. It’s not like putting sentences into a code. For
example, in the present tense mangio can mean ‘I eat’ or ‘I am
eating’. It is more helpful to try to understand the way the system
of tenses works in Italian. Remember: the passato prossimo is used
for a completed action or event in the past. Here are some more
examples:
Ieri mattina sono andato a trovare Carla. Il pomeriggio sono
rimasto a casa e Giorgio è venuto a parlare del nuovo
progetto. La sera io, lui e le nostre mogli siamo andati a
vedere il nuovo ﬁlm.
Yesterday morning I went to see Carla. In the afternoon I
stayed at home and Giorgio came to talk about the new
project. In the evening I, he and our wives went to see the
new ﬁlm.
–
–
–
–
Non siete venuti alla festa sabato?
No, siamo andati a Parigi e siamo tornati solo ieri sera.
You didn’t come to the party on Saturday.
No, we went to Paris and we only got back yesterday
evening.
–
–
–
–
Dov’è Giorgio?
E’ sceso in cantina a prendere il vino. Arriva subito – eccolo.
Where’s Giorgio?
He’s gone down to the cellar to get the wine. He’ll be here
straight away – here he is.
152
Unit 10: Buone vacanze
Exercise 1
You’ve been away for a couple of days and, on your return, you
bump into a friend at the airport. Complete the conversation below.
To help you where the subject might be unclear the pronoun has
been indicated between square brackets. It would not normally be
used, omit it.
AMICO:
TU:
AMICO:
TU:
AMICO:
Ciao, come stai? Da dove arrivi?
[Io] (1 essere) a Zurigo per affari. E tu?
[Io] (2 andare) in Svezia per lavoro.
(3 andare)[tu] da solo?
No, (4 andare) [io] con due colleghi. (5 partire) [noi]
insieme ma loro (6 rimanere) a Stoccolma per altri due
giorni.
Exercise 2
Here is a report of a visit by a team from another company that
took place last week. They came to discuss a joint venture the two
companies are hoping to undertake together. Choose the correct
forms for the verbs. They must be in the passato prossimo.
La delegazione (1) (arrivare) il 20 giugno. L’amministratore
delegato (2) (andare) all’aeroporto a dare il benvenuto ai
membri della delegazione. Poi questi (3) (andare) in albergo.
Il primo incontro formale (4) (essere) molto cordiale ma
quando (5) (arrivare) alla questione del ﬁnanziamento
(6) (venire) fuori varie difﬁcoltà.
Vocabulary
La mia famiglia
il nonno
il padre
il fratello
il ﬁglio
lo zio
il cugino
il nipote
il marito
grandfather
father
brother
son
uncle
cousin (m.)
nephew,
grandson
husband
la
la
la
la
la
la
la
nonna
madre
sorella
ﬁglia
zia
cugina
nipote
la moglie
grandmother
mother
sister
daughter
aunt
cousin (f.)
niece,
granddaughter
wife
Unit 10: Have a good holiday
il cognato
il suocero
il genero
brother-in-law
father-in-law
son-in-law
153
la cognata
la suocera
la nuora
sister-in-law
mother-in-law
daughter-in-law
Plurals
i nonni
i genitori
i parenti
i fratelli
le sorelle
i ﬁgli
le ﬁglie
gli zii
le zie
grandparents
parents
relations (not just mother and father, see above)
brothers, or brothers and sisters
sisters
sons, or sons and daughters
daughters
uncles or uncles and aunts
aunts
Cultural point
Nipote can be both nephew/niece and grandson/granddaughter.
Many people use the form nipotino, nipotina for ‘grandson, granddaughter’. For ‘boyfriend, girlfriend’ it is usual to use the words
ragazzo, ragazza (which also mean ‘boy, girl’). When there is a
formal intention to marry, then ﬁdanzato, ﬁdanzata ‘ﬁancé(e)’, is
used. And note that when talking in the plural, the masculine can
include the feminine too, e.g. fratelli can be ‘brothers and sisters’
or just ‘brothers’ (see also: gli zii, i ﬁgli). On the other hand sorelle
can only be ‘sisters’ (see p. 154).
Exercise 3
Here is a family tree. Complete the sentences below with the
correct word.
Alberto = Rosa
Silvia = Aldo
Arturo
Anna
Paolo
Margherita
Emilio
Carla
Antonietta = Pietro
Andrea
Nicola
Mimi
Note: Andrea = Andrew; Nicola = Nicholas – i.e. they are boys’
names.
154
Unit 10: Buone vacanze
Example: Emilio è il ﬁglio di Alberto.
1
2
3
4
5
Nicola è _____ di Carla.
Andrea è _____ di Rosa.
Anna è _____ di Paolo.
Margherita è _____ di Aldo.
Aldo è _____ di Pietro.
6
7
8
9
10
Antonietta è _____ di Arturo.
Rosa è _____ di Alberto.
Paolo è _____ di Arturo.
Anna è _____ di Margherita.
Aldo è _____ di Silvia.
Exercise 4
Carlo has drawn his family tree (albero genealogico).
Mio nonno = Mia nonna
Alberto
Rosa
Mia zia = Giorgio
Mio fratello Alberto
Mio nonno = Mia nonna
Piero
Adele
Mio padre = Mia madre
Mia sorella Anna
Io
Mio zio = Anna
Mio fratello Edoardo
Draw your family tree and label it for an Italian friend.
Possessive adjectives
When Carlo refers to his relations he writes:
mio fratello
mio nonno
mia sorella
mio padre
This usage is in fact an exception, used when you are talking about
family members in the singular. Here are some examples of how
you usually express possession:
La mia famiglia è grande.
My family is large.
Le mie sorelle sono sposate.
My sisters are married.
I tuoi nonni, dove abitano?
Where do your grandparents live?
Il nostro amico, Carlo, è appena tornato da Lisbona.
Our friend, Carlo, has just come back from Lisbon.
Unit 10: Have a good holiday
155
Il suo nuovo direttore è un uomo molto difﬁcile.
His new manager is a very difﬁcult man.
Dov’è il mio libro?
Where is my book?
Mi piace la vostra nuova casa.
I like your new house.
Conoscete i nostri amici?
Do you know our friends?
You will note that the deﬁnite article is used, as well as the possessive. The words used to express possession are adjectives and have
to agree with the noun they qualify. The forms are:
my
your
his/her
your (formal)
our
your
their
il
il
il
il
il
il
il
mio
tuo
suo
Suo
nostro
vostro
loro
la
la
la
la
la
la
la
mia
tua
sua
Sua
nostra
vostra
loro
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
miei
tuoi
suoi
Suoi
nostri
vostri
loro
le
le
le
le
le
le
le
mie
tue
sue
Sue
nostre
vostre
loro
(io)
(tu)
(lui/lei)
(Lei)
(noi)
(voi)
(loro)
Notes
(a) You cannot distinguish in Italian between ‘his’ and ‘her’. e’ la
sua macchina means ‘it’s his/her car’, according to the context.
(b) il tuo etc. is used when talking to someone to whom you say
tu, a friend, a relation, a colleague, a child: Usi la tua macchina
ogni giorno?
il Suo etc. is for when you are talking to someone whom
you address as Lei, i.e. someone with whom your relationship
is formal: Signor Martini, Lei usa la Sua macchina ogni giorno?
il vostro etc. is used when talking to more than one person:
Voi usate la vostra macchina ogni giorno?
(c) il loro etc.: loro is invariable. Also, il loro is an exception to
the rule about omitting the deﬁnite article when talking about
a relative: Il loro padre.
(d) When referring to their family, Italians often call them simply:
i miei.
(e) The possessives can also be used as pronouns:
Non trovo l’ombrello.
I can’t ﬁnd my umbrella.
Non preoccuparti. Prendi il mio. Don’t worry. Take mine.
156
Unit 10: Buone vacanze
A saying
Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi.
Christmas with your family, Easter with whoever you like.
Exercise 5
Gianni is showing you some
photos. Ask him if the people
are members of his family and
if the buildings etc. belong to
him.
Example: E’ la tua casa?
Now imagine that you had
only recently met the person
showing you the photos, perhaps in a hotel
while on holiday. You would use Lei. How would you
change your questions?
1
3
2
Unit 10: Have a good holiday
157
4
6
5
Saying how old someone is
Talking about his son, Aldo says: Marco ha sedici anni. To express
age, you use avere + the number + years. In answer to the question Quanti anni hai? Marco might say:
Ho sedici anni.
or
Ne ho sedici.
ne means ‘of them’, here referring to years. You need either anni
after the number or ne before the verb.
Exercise 6
Work out how you would say
1
2
3
4
your own age
that of your children if you have any
that of your brothers and sisters
and of your grandparents etc.
158
Unit 10: Buone vacanze
You will get sentences like:
Ho trentaquattro anni.
Mio ﬁglio, Bill, ha tre anni e mia ﬁglia, Clare, ne ha due.
Mia sorella ha quarant’anni e mio fratello ne ha trentotto.
Mio nonno ha novantadue anni.
Dialogue 2
Il tempo
Aldo is telephoning a business colleague who is in Venice. It’s
January and it is just before lunch.
1 Is Aldo’s colleague having good weather in Venice?
2 Why are the ski buffs likely to be happier in the near future?
ALDO:
COLLEGA:
ALDO:
Che tempo fa a Venezia?
Oggi c’è un bel sole e ora, a mezzogiorno, fa quasi
caldo. Ieri e lunedì però il tempo è stato brutto: nebbia
umida, e che freddo! E da te?
Qui fa bello. La notte però la temperatura scende sotto
zero. In montagna non nevica e gli sciatori si lamentano perché non c’è neve. Ma secondo le previsioni, il
tempo sta per cambiare.
Talking about the weather
The standard question about the weather is Che tempo fa? You
can answer in the following ways:
Fa bel tempo
or Il tempo è bello
Fa brutto tempo
brutto
freddo
caldo
or
Fa bello
brutto
freddo
caldo
It’s ﬁne/lovely
nasty/bad
cold
hot
The weather is ﬁne
bad/nasty
cold
hot
Unit 10: Have a good holiday
159
In other words: either (1) start your sentence with Fa and add an
adjective or the set phrases bel tempo, brutto tempo; or (2) start
with il tempo è and add adjectives. Other possible answers are:
C’è il sole
la nebbia
vento
Piove
Nevica
It’s sunny/the sun is shining
foggy
windy
It’s raining
It’s snowing
la pioggia
la neve
rain
snow
More weather vocabulary
le previsioni del tempo
cielo sereno
nuvoloso
mare mosso
calmo
un temporale
il maltempo
la grandine
the weather forecast or, often: il meteo
clear sky
cloudy
rough sea
calm
a storm
bad weather
hail (hailstones)
Every so often you will read the headline in the newspaper:
Mezza Italia in tilt per il maltempo
Half Italy in chaos because of the bad weather
and know that heavy snow or rain, high winds or thick fog has
upset road, rail or air trafﬁc.
Using stare + per ‘about to’
Il tempo sta per cambiare
‘The weather is about to change’
Use the present of stare + per + the inﬁnitive to say ‘to be about
to, to be on the point of’, e.g:
Stiamo per partire
We are about to leave/on the point of leaving
Il treno sta per arrivare
The train is about to arrive/on the point of arriving
160
Unit 10: Buone vacanze
The present tense of stare is:
sto
stai
sta
stiamo
state
stanno
Exclamations
Che can be used with adjectives or nouns to make exclamations.
Che freddo!
Che pioggia!
Che scemo!
What cold!
What rain!
What a silly boy/man
Exercise 7
By courtesy of La Stampa.
VENTI
MARI
NEVE
GRANDINE
TEMPORALI
PIOGGIA
NEBBIA
VARIABILE
NUVOLOSO
SERENO
The language of weather forecasts tends to be technical but similar
to English. There is usually, however, a drawing to help. We have
reproduced one below which refers to the weather on Christmas
Eve. Many people’s image of Italy is of sunshine and warmth. Study
the drawing and then answer the questions.
Unit 10: Have a good holiday
1 What is the weather going to be like on the coast north of
Rome?
2. What are the seas around all of the peninsula going to be like?
3 What is likely to fall on the Alps and the Apennines?
4 What is going to fall in Sardinia? It will also fall in the heel of
Italy south of Bari and in the Po Plain.
5 In the instep of Italy (Basilicata) something particularly nasty
seems to be in store. What is it?
Reading
Il clima italiano
1 If you are ﬂying to Milan in November, what might be a
problem?
2 Why do those who can leave the northern cities in the summer
head for the sea or the mountains?
3 In what way is the climate of the Adriatic Coast different from
that of the Tyrrhenian coast?
4 If you like really hot weather, where in Italy should you choose
for your holiday?
Come per la cucina italiana, così anche per il clima non si può
parlare di “clima italiano”. Varia da regione a regione. Le
montagne del nord hanno un clima alpino: inverni freddi, estati
calde di giorno ma con notti relativamente fresche. La pianura
padana invece ha un clima continentale: inverni freddi, estati molto
calde. Un grosso problema in questa zona è l’umidità: d’inverno
c’è spesso nebbia e d’estate il tasso d’umidità è alto. In tutta l’Italia
le zone costiere godono di un clima mite, grazie all’inﬂuenza del
mare. Ma c’è una differenza tra la costa adriatica e quella tirrenica:
infatti quest’ultima ha un clima generalmente più mite. D’inverno
la costa adriatica è battuta qualche volta da venti freddi da nordest, cioè dall’Europa centrale. Sull’Appennino inﬂuisce l’altitudine:
d’inverno fa più freddo che sulla costa alla stessa latitudine. E poi,
più si va verso sud, più il clima diventa caldo. Naturalmente,
dappertutto ci sono momenti in cui il tempo è eccezionale, essendo
particolarmente freddo o insolitamente caldo.
161
162
Unit 10: Buone vacanze
Vocabulary
godere di un clima mite
quest’ultima
battuto
alla stessa latitudine
to enjoy a mild climate
the latter
hit by, beaten by
at the same latitude
11 Che cosa ha
visto?
What did you see?
In this unit you will learn about:
•
•
•
•
•
Polizia e carabinieri – the Italian police
Saying what you did/have done
Saying niente, nulla ‘nothing’; and qualcosa ‘something’
The gerund, essendo, vendendo
Saying how long something has been going on for:
da + present tense
• Diminutives (casetta ‘little house’) and other sufﬁxes
• Letters and emails to friends
Dialogue 1
Un giallo
The apartment next door to Mrs Mancini’s has been burgled. She
is being interviewed by the carabinieri.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Who left home ﬁrst, Mrs Mancini or her family?
Where did she go the ﬁrst time she went out?
Why did she come back again before going to work?
What did she notice as she left the house the second time?
What did not seem strange to her at the time but does now?
Why did she ﬁnd it strange that her neighbours’ door was
open?
CARABINIERE:
SIG.RA M:
Signora, ci racconti che cosa ha fatto questa
mattina.
Ecco. Mi sono alzata verso le sei e mezzo, come
al solito. Ho preparato la colazione per mio marito
164
Unit 11: Che cosa ha visto?
CARABINIERE
SIG.RA M:
CARABINIERE:
SIG.RA M:
CARABINIERE:
SIG.RA M:
CARABINIERE:
SIG.RA M:
CARABINIERE;
SIG.RA M:
CARABINIERE:
e i miei ﬁgli. Loro sono usciti verso le sette e mezzo
e io poco dopo.
Non ha notato niente di strano in quel momento?
No, niente.
E poi?
E poi sono andata al mercato. Ho fatto la spesa.
Siccome ho comprato carne, frutta e verdura, ho
portato tutto a casa e ho messo la carne e la
verdura nel frigo. E poi sono andata al lavoro
verso le nove meno un quarto.
E tutto Le è sembrato normale?
Sì. Ma adesso mi ricordo che ho notato una grande
macchina bianca, una Volvo, parcheggiata davanti
a casa nostra. Dentro ho visto due uomini.
Mi può descrivere questi uomini?
Ma questo è il fatto strano: quando sono uscita di
casa hanno girato la testa dall’altra parte. Cosi non
ho visto la loro faccia. Sul momento non l’ho
trovato strano, ma ora . . .
E poi?
E poi sono andata a lavorare e quando sono
tornata a casa all’una ho trovato aperta la porta
dell’appartamento dei miei vicini. Sono in vacanza
all’estero, così ho subito pensato a un furto e ho
chiamato i carabinieri.
Ha fatto molto bene, signora. Allora, torniamo a
quella macchina bianca . . .
Vocabulary
ci racconti
non ha notato niente
di strano?
siccome
frigo (short for frigorifero)
mi ricordo
hanno girato la testa
dall’altra parte
i miei vicini
tell us
you didn’t notice anything strange?
since (in the sense of ‘because’)
fridge
I remember
they turned their heads
the other way
my neighbours
Unit 11: What did you see?
A carabiniere examining works of art which have been recovered
by the force. Courtesy Comando Generale dell’Arma dei
Carabinieri.
Cultural point
The Arma dei Carabinieri is a military corps, under the Ministry
of Defence. It originated as the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of
Piedmont and Sardinia in the days before Italy was uniﬁed. Italy
also has a police force: la Polizia di Stato, set up after the Uniﬁcation of Italy, under the Ministry of the Interior. Their websites
give an idea of the two: www.carabinieri.it and www.poliziadistato.
it. There are also other corps such as the Guardia di Finanza, under
the Ministry of Finance, who deal with tax evasion and smuggling.
Each comune also has vigili urbani.
165
166
Unit 11: Che cosa ha visto?
Language points
More about the passato prossimo,
saying what you did
The passato prossimo of most verbs is formed with the present
tense of avere + the past participle:
– Che cosa ha fatto questa mattina?
– Ho preparato la colazione . . .
Make a list of other examples of the passato prossimo in the
Dialogue above. You should have found:
avere
essere
ha notato
ho fatto la spesa
ho comprato
ho portato
ho messo
ho notato
ho visto
hanno girato
non ho visto
non l’ho trovato strano
ho trovato
ho subito pensato
ho chiamato
ha fatto bene
mi sono alzata
loro sono usciti
sono andata al mercato
sono andata al lavoro
tutto Le è sembrato normale?
sono uscita
sono andata a lavorare
sono tornata
You will perhaps have noticed:
1 that when the passato prossimo is formed with avere the past
participle does not agree with the subject;
2 messo is a new past participle to you; it comes from mettere ‘to
put’.
The passato prossimo of reﬂexive verbs
The second verb in the conversation, mi sono alzata, is not one of
the verbs of movement or state which you learned were conjugated
with essere. It is a reﬂexive or pronominal verb (see Unit 6).
Reﬂexive verbs also form their passato prossimo with essere.
Unit 11: What did you see?
The passato prossimo of impersonal verbs
Verbs used impersonally also usually make their passato prossimo
with essere: Tutto Le è sembrato normale? ‘Did everything seem
normal to you?’ (sembra means ‘it seems’).
Mi è piaciuto molto il ﬁlm.
I liked the ﬁlm a lot.
Che cosa è successo?
What’s happened?/What happened?
(succedere means ‘to happen’; succede means ‘it happens, it is
happening’.)
With verbs relating to weather phenomena such as nevicare,
piovere, both avere and essere are used. essere is considered the
better usage.
E’ nevicato in montagna ieri. Qui è piovuto.
Ha nevicato in montagna ieri. Qui ha piovuto.
It snowed in the mountains yesterday. Here it rained.
Exercise 1
You and your husband/wife/friend(s) had a busy weekend. Tell
someone about it. Here is what you did:
Sabato
mattina
fare la spesa
comprare un vestito nuovo per me
pomeriggio
andare a una mostra interessante
sera
essere a cena da vecchi amici
Domenica
fare una gita con amici che hanno una barca
a vela
andare in mare con questi amici
pranzare sulla barca
fare il bagno
prendere il sole
cenare in un ristorante sul porto
167
168
Unit 11: Che cosa ha visto?
Exercise 2
You are an Italian private detective (investigatore privato) and you
have been asked to follow a certain lady. Report on what she did
yesterday. We give you the verbs in the inﬁnitive.
1 uscire di casa alle nove e mezzo
2 salire su un taxi
3 andare alla Banca Nazionale del Lavoro in Piazza
Garibaldi
4 uscire dalla banca dopo un quarto d’ora
5 andare a piedi al bar Roma
6 sedersi all’interno del bar
7 ordinare un cappuccino
8 essere raggiunta da un uomo alto, bello, elegante
9 uscire dal bar con quest’uomo
10 salire su una Mercedes con lui
11 andare in un ristorante sul lago
12 verso le tre lasciare il ristorante, sempre in compagnia
dell’uomo
YOUR
YOU:
CLIENT:
YOUR
CLIENT:
E poi?
E poi, niente. Li ho perduti. Ho avuto un incidente
con la mia macchina.
Pazienza. In ogni modo, quell’uomo alto e
elegante, che guida una Mercedes, è probabilmente suo fratello.
Using niente/nulla and qualcosa
niente means ‘nothing/not . . . anything’. The carabiniere asks Mrs
Mancini:
Non ha notato niente di strano?
You didn’t notice anything strange?
To use niente with a verb, you must have non before the verb:
Non ho visto niente.
I saw nothing/I didn’t see anything.
Non capisco niente.
I understand nothing/I don’t understand anything.
Unit 11: What did you see?
nulla also means ‘nothing’ and is used in the same way as niente:
Non abbiamo visto nulla.
We didn’t see anything/we saw nothing.
Note: ‘Something’ is normally qualcosa, or the longer form qualche
cosa:
E’ successo qualcosa.
Something has happened.
Hai visto qualcosa?
Did you see something/anything?
‘Something’/‘nothing’ + adjective is qualcosa/niente/nulla di . . .:
E’ successo qualcosa di strano.
Something strange has happened.
Qualcosa di bello.
Something lovely.
Non ha detto nulla di interessante.
He didn’t say anything interesting.
Non so nulla di buono di lui.
I don’t know anything good about him.
‘Something’/‘nothing’ + verb is qualcosa da/niente da/nulla da . . .:
Vuoi qualcosa da mangiare?
Do you want something/anything to eat?
Ho qualcosa da fare.
I have something to do.
Non ha niente da fare.
He/she has nothing to do. He/she hasn’t anything to do.
Non c’è nulla da mangiare.
There’s nothing to eat.
(See also p. 134 for a similar use of da.)
Exercise 3
Things went badly today. Your husband wants to know about a
number of things you intended to do but you had no success, so
answers to these questions are negative. Use non . . . niente.
1 Hai comprato la camicetta che volevi?
2 Hai letto l’articolo di Sergio Romano sul giornale di ieri?
169
170
Unit 11: Che cosa ha visto?
3 Hai ﬁnito di scrivere la lettera alla nonna?
4 Hai almeno mangiato bene a mezzogiorno? C’era quel buon
prosciutto da ﬁnire.
5 Ma insomma, che cosa hai fatto oggi?
Sono stata poco bene e così _________ .
Reading
La lettera di un’amica
When you write letters to your friends you will often want to talk
about what you have been doing. Here is a letter from a friend.
1 Marina says a lot has happened since she last wrote. What
three events does she write about?
2 Why was 23 May a special day for Marina?
3 What keeps Marina busy in spite of the fact that she has
retired?
4 What did Marina and her husband ﬁnd difﬁcult when she
retired? What has helped them resolve the problem?
Cara Sara,
Ti ringrazio per la tua lettera. Mi scuso per questo lungo
silenzio. Sappi almeno che sei spesso stata presente nei miei
pensieri.
Nel frattempo sono successe molte cose. Piero, essendo
ormai ben inserito nel suo lavoro di avvocato, si è sposato con
la sua ragazza. Si conoscono da quasi dieci anni. Hanno una
casa piccola ma fra un mese traslocheranno nella casa che
abbiamo comprato vendendo la nostra casetta di Desenzano.
La seconda grande notizia è stata la nascita di Andrea,
ﬁglio di Paola. E’ nato il giorno del mio compleanno, il 23 maggio.
E’ un bambino simpaticissimo con occhi grigio-blu e un carattere
allegro. Ora ha nove mesi e tutti gli vogliamo molto bene.
Terzo avvenimento: sono andata in pensione il primo di
settembre. Ma ho molto da fare e non mi annoio. Lavoro sempre
come consulente e scrittrice. Poi mi occupo spesso di Andrea
mentre Paola lavora. Inﬁne i miei genitori che sono vecchi e
deboli hanno bisogno di aiuto. Così sono sempre occupata.
Unit 11: What did you see?
Anche mio marito è in pensione: all’inizio è stato difﬁcile ma
ormai ci siamo abituati. La nostra casa è grande e ognuno ha il
suo studio, il proprio spazio.
Non mi resta che scusarmi ancora per il ritardo nello
scrivere. Con molto affetto, buon lavoro e fatti sentire,
Un abbraccio,
Marina
Vocabulary
ti ringrazio
mi scuso
sappi
I thank you
I apologize (I excuse myself)
I want you to know that (the tu imperative/
command form from sapere; the formal
form (Lei) is sappia)
nei miei pensieri
in my thoughts
nel frattempo
in the meanwhile
ben inserito nel suo lavoro nicely settled in his work
traslocheranno
they will move
tutti gli vogliamo
we all love him very much
molto bene
sono andata in pensione
I retired
non mi annoio
I’m not bored (annoiarsi ‘to be bored’)
mi occupo di Andrea
I take care of Andrea
ci siamo abituati
we have got used to it, we are used to it
fatti sentire
keep in touch/write soon
(lit. ‘make yourself heard’)
Language points
The gerund, essendo, vendendo
Marina writes:
Piero, essendo ormai ben inserito nel suo lavoro di avvocato,
si è sposato.
Piero, now being well settled (since he is now settled) in his
work as a lawyer, got married.
La casa che abbiamo comprato vendendo la nostra casetta
di Desenzano
The house we bought by selling our little house in Desenzano
171
172
Unit 11: Che cosa ha visto?
This form is called the gerund. In all cases, take the inﬁnitive as
the base and remove the ending: for -are verbs then add -ando and
for all the others -endo.
-are
-ere
-ire
parlare
parlando
decidere
decidendo
capire
capendo
essere
essendo
avere
avendo
The only verbs that are irregular are dire, fare, bere and a few
others (produrre and similar verbs with inﬁnitives ending in -rre).
All have inﬁnitives that have become shortened (from dicere,
facere, bevere, producere). The gerund is based on the old inﬁnitive:
dicendo
facendo
bevendo
producendo
Knowing about this older form of the inﬁnitive also helps explain
other forms of these verbs. dare and stare behave regularly: dando,
stando.
The gerund is used:
1 to explain how or why, as in the examples in the letter:
Facendo il lavoro così, lo rendi più difﬁcile.
(By) doing the work this way, you make it more difﬁcult.
2 to convey one action happening at the same time as another
(‘while, on, as’):
Andando a Roma, mi sono fermato una notte a Firenze.
(While) going to Rome, I stopped for a night in Florence.
Uscendo di casa, Giorgio ha visto l’amico Aldo.
As he left (on leaving) home, Giorgio saw his friend Aldo.
Do not assume the gerund will always translate the English form
ending in ‘-ing’. The gerund is a verbal form. When the form ending
in ‘-ing’ is a noun, in Italian it is more likely to be expressed by
an inﬁnitive. For instance, Marina says:
. . . il ritardo nello scrivere
. . . the delay in writing
Compare:
Mi piace leggere.
I like reading.
Unit 11: What did you see?
This is a difﬁcult point. As always, try to imitate what you hear
and read. And don’t worry too much about mistakes.
Sbagliando si impara.
One learns by making mistakes.
Exercise 4
Below are some pairs of sentences. Combine them using the
gerund. This will make the style more interesting.
Example: Faccio passeggiate in campagna. Mi piace guardare
i ﬁori e gli alberi.
Facendo passeggiate in campagna, mi piace
guardare i ﬁori e gli alberi.
(a) These sentences are about Sergio’s morning routine.
1 Sergio va al lavoro ogni mattina. Compra il giornale.
2 E’ di Firenze. Compra la Nazione*.
3 Prende un espresso al bar. Legge il giornale.
* La Nazione is the Florentine daily newspaper.
(b) These sentences are about your friends.
1 I miei amici hanno una casa in campagna. Passano spesso
il ﬁne settimana lì.
2 Il loro giardino è grande. Hanno sempre del lavoro da fare.
3 Hanno un orto (vegetable garden, kitchen garden). Hanno
sempre frutta e verdura fresca a tavola.
Another use of da, saying how long
something has been going on for
Si conoscono da dieci anni
When you talk about what you have been doing you use the passato
prossimo. An exception to this is when you want to convey the idea
that something has been happening for a certain amount of time
and is still happening. Marina said Piero and his girlfriend ‘have
known each other for ten years’. Here are some more examples:
Studio l’italiano da due mesi.
I have been studying Italian for two months.
173
174
Unit 11: Che cosa ha visto?
Gianni lavora da due anni in quella ditta.
Gianni has been working for that ﬁrm for two years.
Non lo vedo da tre anni.
I haven’t seen him for three years.
You say what is going on, using the present tense, and then use
da plus the amount of time. This is another use of the preposition
da. You can also use da followed by a point in time, meaning ‘since’
in English:
E’ qui da venerdì.
He’s been here since Friday.
Abitiamo a Roma da giugno dell’anno scorso.
We have been living in Rome since June last year.
Exercise 5
Here are some things Pietro does and the date when he started
doing them. Imagine it is now December 2006. Write down how
long he has been doing these things. Then also write down how
you would say this in English.
Example: Fuma la pipa.
2000
Pietro fuma la pipa da sei anni.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Suona il pianoforte.
Lavora come ingegnere.
Conosce Antonio.
Studia il francese.
Esce con Alessia.
Abita a Milano.
1982
2002
1992
2005, settembre
2003
1995
You could also have said: Pietro fuma la pipa dal 2000 etc.
Diminutives and other sufﬁxes
Marina talks about a little house (una casetta) in Desenzano (on
Lake Garda) which they have sold to help Piero buy a house.
Rather than saying una piccola casa she alters the word casa by
adding a sufﬁx (an extra syllable at the end of a word), -etta. You
will remember how this device is used with adjectives to convey
the idea ‘very’: bello, bellissimo. There are a number of such
sufﬁxes.
Unit 11: What did you see?
175
Warning: it takes time for the non-native speaker to get them right.
However, it is useful to be able to recognize them. Here are some
common ones.
• -etto, -ino can be added to nouns and adjectives to convey an
idea of smallness:
fratellino
orchestrina
piazzetta
little brother
small orchestra (such as plays for a bar in
Piazza San Marco in Venice – see Unit 1)
little square (indeed the square which lies at
right angles to Piazza San Marco and which
leads to the waterfront is called la Piazzetta)
• -ino is also commonly added to certain adjectives and adverbs,
modifying their meaning:
caro
dear
carino pretty, cute, sweet
piano
softly, slowly
pianino very softly, slowly
• -one indicates bigness; it can be added to nouns, adjectives and
the adverb bene. When it is added to feminine words they
change gender and become masculine:
una donna
un donnone
woman
a big woman
– Come sta?
– How are you?
un libro
a book
un librone a big book
– Benone.
– Fine.
• -accio indicates the speaker considers the person or object nasty
or worthless:
parola
word
tempo
weather
parolaccia
swear word tempaccio dreadful weather
parolacce (pl.) bad language
• -astro added to words for colour is equivalent to the English
‘-ish’:
bianco white
biancastro whitish
Note: fratellastro, sorellastra, ﬁgliastro/a are used to mean ‘stepbrother, stepsister, stepson, stepdaughter’ respectively.
Listen for these sufﬁxes. There are others, but it is best to use only
those you have heard. Sometimes the words formed come to stand
176
Unit 11: Che cosa ha visto?
in their own right, for example telefonino is the usual everyday
word for a ‘cellular telephone’, spago is ‘string’, spaghetti are long
pieces of pasta in the shape of strings.
Letters and emails
Letter-writing is being eclipsed by emails and telephone calls.
However, much of what follows applies equally to emails and to
letters. When writing to a friend, use caro, cara and the friend’s
name. If you start your emails ‘Hi, Guido!’ you will probably use
Ciao, Guido! in Italian. The salutation at the end depends on the
intimacy of the relationship. Possible endings are:
affettuosamente
saluti affettuosi
cari saluti
un abbraccio
yours affectionately
affectionate greetings
warm (lit. ‘dear’) greetings
much love (lit. ‘a hug,
an embrace’)
When writing to someone you know fairly well but with whom
you have a fairly formal relationship, using Lei, you may start
Caro signor Rossi, and end Cordialmente or Cordiali saluti. It is
considered a courtesy to use a capital letter for Lei and related
words, e.g:
La ringrazio della Sua gentile ospitalità.
When writing to someone you do not know or with whom your
relationship is very formal, you write:
Egregio Signore (to a man)
Gentile Signora (to a woman)
When the surname is not used, a capital letter for the title is
customary. You can still end with cordiali saluti, or use distinti
saluti which is more formal.
Emails tend to be less formal but that will depend on the circumstances. The word for email is una email or, more commonly, una
mail. The Italian name for the system is posta elettronica.
Exercise 6
Write a letter or an email to an imaginary Italian friend telling
him/her what you did last weekend. You should try to use some
of the expressions in this unit but of course you are free to try to
say whatever you like.
12 Ecco la mia
casa
This is my home
In this unit you will learn about:
• How to talk about houses and ﬂats
• maggiore, minore ‘elder, younger’; morire, nascere ‘to die,
to be born’; nel ‘in’
• Ways of giving reasons: perché, a causa di, grazie a
• The various uses of ci
• The pronoun ne ‘of it, of them, some’
• Trends in housing in Italy
Reading 1
La cugina italiana
1
2
3
4
Who is Gabriella?
Why does Angela go to see her?
Does Angela visit Gabriella often?
What sort of district is the one Gabriella lives in?
La sorella maggiore della mamma di Angela Smith ha sposato un
italiano. Questa sorella è morta qualche anno fa, ma la mamma di
Angela ha mantenuto i contatti con i suoi ﬁgli, i cugini di Angela.
Una in particolare scrive regolarmente. Si chiama Gabriella. La
mamma di Angela le ha chiesto di andare a trovare questa cugina.
E’ la prima volta che Angela va da Gabriella. Gabriella le fa vedere
la sua casa, che si trova al quarto piano di un palazzo costruito nel
1967. E’ in una zona residenziale nella periferia di Torino, nata
negli anni del boom, del ‘miracolo italiano’, per gente che veniva
a lavorare nella grande industria automobilistica. Oggi nella zona
178
Unit 12: Ecco la mia casa
ci sono molti palazzi simili ma le strade sono larghe, ci sono alberi
e spazio. E’ un quartiere tranquillo.
Gabriella
Vocabulary
sorella maggiore
qualche anno fa
questa sorella è morta
le fa vedere
elder sister
some years ago
this sister died
shows her
Language points
maggiore, minore
As well as meaning ‘bigger’, maggiore is also used to mean ‘elder’,
referring to brothers and sisters. minore means ‘younger’.
Using morire, nascere
morire (past participle: morto) ‘to die’ is irregular, as is nascere
(past participle nato) ‘to be born’. Both verbs form the passato
prossimo with essere:
E’ morto il presidente.
The president has died.
Anna è nata nel 1954.
Anna was born in 1954.
Unit 12: This is my home
179
nel ‘in’
Notice you say nel 1967 ‘in 1967’, as in the example above, nel
1954. You always do this for ‘in’ with a year.
Exercise 1
Use the information in this family tree to complete the paragraph
below.
Alberto sp. 1957 Anna
n. 1935
n. 1937
Marco sp. 1985 Mara
n. 1960
n. 1963
Anna
n. 1987
Alfredo
n. 1990
Paolo
1962–1980
Nicola
n. 1973
Paolo
n. 1992
Alberto ha (1) _____ Anna a Napoli (2) _____ 1957. Poco dopo
sono emigrati negli Stati Uniti. Hanno avuto tre ﬁgli. Il (3) _____,
Marco, (4) _____ nel 1960. Da studente è tornato in Italia a trovare
i cugini italiani e così ha conosciuto Mara. Si sono sposati nel (5)
_____. Vivono a Chicago e ormai hanno anche loro tre (6) _____,
Anna, (7) _____ nel 1987, Alfredo, nel 1990, e Paolo, nel 1992.
Paolo, il secondo ﬁglio di Alberto e di Anna (8) _____ in un incidente stradale nel 1980. Nicola, il ﬁglio (9) _____ di Alberto e di
Anna, è medico. Per il momento non è (10) _____ e così non ha
ﬁgli.
Vocabulary
La casa
appartamento
il pian terreno
al pian terreno
il secondo
piano
ﬂat, apartment
the ground ﬂoor
on the ground
ﬂoor
the second ﬂoor
palazzo
il primo
piano
ascensore
apartment building,
block of ﬂats,
palace
the ﬁrst ﬂoor
lift
180
Unit 12: Ecco la mia casa
il seminterrato
soggiorno
bagno
ripostiglio
cantina
terrazza/o*
basement, semibasement (partly
below ground)
living room,
sitting room
bathroom
boxroom, store
cellar
terrace
scala
entrata
stanza
sala da pranzo
cucina
camera
(da letto)
balcone
staircase
entrance hall
room
dining room
kitchen
bedroom
balcony
* Often used of a large balcony. Both masculine and feminine forms exist.
Cultural point
Stanza is a general word for ‘room’, particularly in a house.
Quante stanze ci sono nella casa?
How many rooms are there in the house?
sala also means ‘room’ but in a home its use is limited to sala da
pranzo: sala is used for spacious rooms in public buildings, e.g. sala
d’attesa ‘waiting room’, sala da ballo ‘dance hall’, sala operatoria
‘operating theatre’. (Note also: saletta ‘little room’, salone ‘large,
spacious room’.) camera also means ‘room’, but its use is usually
limited, in the context of a home or a hotel, to ‘bedroom’, sometimes given the longer name of camera da letto. stanza is used in
stanza da bagno, although often the bathroom is just il bagno.
Floors are counted European-style. il pian terreno is the ground
ﬂoor at ground level. il primo piano is one ﬂoor up from ground
level. ‘On’ a particular ﬂoor is al:
al terzo piano
on the third ﬂoor (fourth ﬂoor American-style counting)
Dialogue 1
Ecco il mio appartamento
Gabriella shows Angela her apartment.
1 What does Gabriella particularly like about her living room?
2 What does Angela approve of about the kitchen?
3 Would Gabriella like a second bathroom?
Unit 12: This is my home
181
4 Where is the garage?
5 What does Gabriella have in the basement?
GABRIELLA:
ANGELA:
GABRIELLA:
ANGELA:
GABRIELLA:
ANGELA:
GABRIELLA:
ANGELA:
GABRIELLA:
ANGELA:
GABRIELLA:
Questo è il soggiorno. Mi piace perché dà verso ovest
e riceve il sole al tramonto.
E’ spazioso e anche molto luminoso.
Sì, a causa delle porte-ﬁnestre che danno sul balcone.
Ed ecco la cucina.
E’ bella e grande. Ci si può mangiare senza difﬁcoltà.
Sì, serve anche da sala da pranzo. Poi c’è il bagno.
E in fondo al corridoio ci sono le camere.
E quella porta lì è un altro bagno?
Purtroppo no. Ne abbiamo uno solo. E’ un
ripostiglio. E’ molto utile.
Immagino. Avete anche il garage?
Sì. Ma è dietro il palazzo, nel cortile. Abbiamo anche
la cantina nel seminterrato.
Hai detto che avete un balcone?
Ne abbiamo due, uno davanti e uno più piccolo
dietro. Vieni a vedere.
Vocabulary
dà verso ovest
serve anche da sala da pranzo
it looks west
it also acts/serves as a dining room
Language points
Ways of giving reasons
perché is used followed by a verb; a causa di by a noun:
Mangio perché ho fame.
I’m eating because I’m hungry.
Mangio a causa della fame.
I’m eating because of hunger.
On the other hand if the reason is positive, you can say grazie a:
Grazie al bel tempo, mangiamo fuori.
Thanks to the good weather, we are eating outside.
182
Unit 12: Ecco la mia casa
Various uses of ci
ci si può mangiare
one can eat in it/there
ci here replaces nella cucina. In the letter in the previous unit,
Marina wrote:
ci siamo abituati
we are used to it
ci has a number of functions:
1 As a pronoun replacing in or a + noun (in English ‘in it, to it,
at it, in them, to them, at them, there’). Used in this way, ci
may be replaced by vi but vi is not common in everyday speech.
Notice that ci (or vi) goes in front of the verb:
–
–
–
–
Vai spesso a Roma?
Ci vado una volta al mese.
Do you go to Rome often?
I go there once a month.
Mi piace molto la campagna. Ci sto volentieri.
I like the country. I like being there
(lit. ‘I stay in it willingly’).
2 With verbs which need an a before the object, such as credere
‘to believe’, riuscire ‘to succeed, to manage’, ci is used as follows:
Tu credi a quello che dice? Io non ci credo.
Do you believe what he says? I don’t believe it.
Riesci ad aprire questa bottiglia? Io non ci riesco.
Can you open this bottle? I can’t manage it.
3 As a subject (‘there’) + essere:
C’è un libro sul tavolo.
There’s a book on the table.
Ci sono due macchine davanti alla porta.
There are two cars outside the door.
Again, vi can replace ci but again it is not common in spoken
Italian.
4 As a personal pronoun, direct and indirect object (‘us, to us’):
Anna ci ha visti al ristorante.
Anna saw us in the restaurant.
Unit 12: This is my home
183
Maurizio ci telefona spesso. (telefonare a qualcuno)
Maurizio telephones us often.
Note: The past participle agrees with a direct object pronoun
(as in ci ha visti).
5 As a reﬂexive and reciprocal pronoun:
Ci divertiamo molto.
We are enjoying ourselves/enjoy ourselves a lot.
Ci scriviamo una volta alla settimana.
We write to each other once a week.
Exercise 2
Answer these questions using ci instead of repeating the place.
Example: Paolo va a Roma sabato? (domenica)
No, ci va domenica.
1
2
3
4
Anna, da quanto tempo abita a Genova? (due anni)
Vai da Giorgio domani? (se ho tempo)
Sei stato a New York quest’anno? (due anni fa)
I tuoi genitori, quando traslocano nella loro nuova casa?
(a maggio)
Using ne
Ne abbiamo uno solo (lit. ‘We have only one of them’)
ne means, according to the context, ‘of it, of them, some’. It is used
in sentences where the speaker is saying how many or how much
of something is being referred to. In English the ‘of it, of them’
would normally not be necessary:
– Quante macchine hai?
– How many cars do you
have?
– Ne ho una sola.
– I only have one.
– Hai dei francobolli?
– Have you any stamps?
– Si, ne ho due o tre.
– Yes, I have two or three
(of them).
– E’ buono il gelato?
– Is the ice cream good?
– Sì, ne vuoi un po’?
– Yes, do you want a little
(of it)?
184
Unit 12: Ecco la mia casa
Sono belle le mele, ne prendo un chilo.
The apples are lovely, I’ll have a kilo (of them).
– Ti piacciono gli spinaci?
– Do you like spinach?
– Sì, ne mangio spesso.
– Yes, I eat it often.
Exercise 3
Answer ‘yes’ to the following questions about your family home
(imaginary) using the information given.
Example: Avete un bagno? (2)
Ne abbiamo due.
1
2
3
4
5
Quante camere avete?
Quanti piani avete?
Quante stanze avete?
Avete anche un garage?
Avete un giardino?
(4)
(3)
(7 in tutto)
(1 solo)
(2 – uno davanti e uno dietro)
Now give the real answers referring to the house where you actually
live.
Using ci and ne together
Ce n’è per tutti
Sometimes when you are asked whether there is something, you
need to use both ci and ne:
– Mamma, sono qui con i miei amici. C’è qualcosa da
mangiare?
– Sì, c’è una torta.
– E’ grande? Siamo in sette.
– Non preoccuparti. Ce n’è per tutti.
–
–
–
–
Mum, I’ve got my friends with me. Is there anything to eat?
Yes, there’s a cake.
Is it big? There are seven of us.
Don’t worry. There is some/enough (of it) for everybody.
When you have ci followed by ne, ci changes and rhymes with
ne. In the example, of course, the ne was followed by è and so
shortened.
Unit 12: This is my home
–
–
–
–
185
Ci sono delle macchine davanti alla casa?
Si, ce ne sono tre.
Are there any cars outside the house?
Yes, there are three (of them).
Exercise 4
Below is the plan of some houses being built on the edge of a
small town. Land is relatively cheap and the builder is offering
small houses built on three ﬂoors rather than ﬂats. Study the plans
and answer the questions.
TERRAZZO
TERRAZZO
TAVERNETTA
BAGNO
LETTO "A"
SOGGIORNO
LAVANDERIA
Piano rialzato
LETTO "B"
BAGNO
CUCINA
CANTINA
DISIMPEANO
BOX
Piano seminterrato
TERRAZZO
SPOGLIATOIO
TERRAZZO
1 Piano
Planimetrie indicative
Note: box is another word for garage. una tavernetta is usually
furnished simply and used for parties. To have one seems to be
something of a status symbol. una lavanderia is a place for doing
the washing. uno spogliatoio is a place where you can take off and
leave your clothes, for instance at a gymnasium or a swimming
pool. piano rialzato is a ﬂoor a little above ground level.
Example: – Quanti bagni ci sono?
– Ce ne sono due.
1 Quanti piani ci sono in questa casa?
2 Nel box quante macchine ci sono?
186
Unit 12: Ecco la mia casa
3 Quanti terrazzi ci sono?
4 Quante camere ci sono?
5 C’è una cantina?
Exercise 5
You have enjoyed a holiday in Tuscany. The agent is checking you
out of the house as you leave. You ask about a different villa for
your stay next year. Explain the following points to him. Keep it
simple. You can use: abbiamo bisogno di ‘we need’, vorremmo
‘we should like’, or, more ﬁrmly, vogliamo ‘we want’.
1 You want to come back next year but not to the same villa.
2 Next year you want a view over the valley.
3 Next year your friends, the Simpsons, are going to come with
you, so you need four bedrooms.
4 You prefer to have two rooms downstairs (i.e. not just one big
room, so use stanza).
5 You also want two or more bathrooms next year.
6 And, above all, you want a quiet house, away from the road.
This year’s house has been noisy (rumoroso).
Exercise 6
Write a simple description of your own house and draw a ﬂoor
plan, labelling the rooms.
Reading 2
Dove vivono gli Italiani
1
2
3
4
5
What is the new trend as far as bathrooms go?
Which room is sometimes missing?
What is the latest trend as far as a place to live is concerned?
How did some families acquire their house in the country?
What did the many Italians who left the land and moved into
the cities in the 1950s and 1960s do there?
6 What change in lifestyle is making it possible to reverse this
trend nowadays?
Oggi la maggior parte degli Italiani vive in città e così l’alloggio
è un appartamento. In genere gli appartamenti hanno stanze
Unit 12: This is my home
spaziose. Un appartamento tipico comprende un’entrata, un
soggiorno, una, due o tre camere, un bagno e una cucina. Sempre
di più i costruttori forniscono “doppi servizi”, cioè due bagni. Il
secondo bagno di solito non ha la vasca ma solo la doccia. Con
una famiglia di due o tre persone è molto pratico. Non c’è sempre
la sala da pranzo; piuttosto c’è il tinello, cioè una sala piccola dove
si può mangiare ma con un angolo cucina. Generalmente l’appartamento ha un balcone.
Sempre di più però gli Italiani vogliono fuggire dalla grande
città per vivere in periferia, in città più piccole o addirittura in
campagna. Parecchie famiglie inoltre, pur vivendo in città,
possiedono una casa in campagna. Spesso è la casa dei nonni,
abbandonata negli anni ’50, ’60, periodo in cui moltissimi Italiani
andavano a lavorare nelle fabbriche in città. Ora, poiché quasi ogni
famiglia dispone di una macchina, è possibile tornare a vivere in
campagna, o almeno andare in campagna ogni ﬁne settimana e
trovare pace e aria pulita.
Vocabulary
la maggior parte
addirittura
parecchie famiglie
inoltre
pur vivendo
poiché
the majority
even
several families
furthermore, besides
even though they live
since, as
187
13 La vita è
cambiata
Life has changed
In this unit you will learn about:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Saying what things were like
Saying what you used to do
Saying what was happening at the time of a particular event
Saying something is going on at this very moment (stare +
gerund): the present continuous
How to say ‘no’ ﬁrmly; more negatives
passato remoto: past events that no longer matter
neppure ‘not even, neither’
Word power: ways of guessing meanings
Dialogue 1
Nel 1967
Having shown Angela her ﬂat, Gabriella offers her a cup of tea.
Thanks to her English mother, she knows how to make a good one.
They are sitting on the balcony.
1
2
3
4
5
From Gabriella’s balcony what can be seen all around?
When she ﬁrst came to live there what did she look out over?
What was there opposite the building?
What was the road like?
There was a factory there, surrounded by ﬁelds. How did the
workers get to work?
6 Why are there fewer workers at the factory these days?
GABRIELLA:
ANGELA:
Ecco il tè.
Si sta bene qui. C’è anche posto per mangiare fuori.
Unit 13: Life has changed
GABRIELLA:
ANGELA:
GABRIELLA:
ANGELA:
GABRIELLA:
ANGELA:
GABRIELLA:
Sì. Anche se ci sono palazzi tutto intorno, è tranquillo. Ma sai, quando siamo venuti a vivere qui
c’era tutta campagna in questa zona, tutti prati.
Davvero?
Proprio di fronte, c’era una cascina, con animali,
mucche, pecore. La strada non era ancora asfaltata.
Io, quando andavo a fare la spesa, mettevo un paio
di scarpe vecchie, perché camminavo sulla terra, sul
fango. Poi quando arrivavo sulla strada buona,
cambiavo scarpe. Non potevo mica andare in giro
con le scarpe coperte di fango. Ma non volevo
mettere scarpe belle per camminare su questa
strada!
La zona è molto cambiata, allora.
Sì, molto. A quell’epoca, la fabbrica era già qui ma
era isolata in mezzo ai campi. Gli operai arrivavano
con il tram o con pullman privati.
E oggi?
Oggi la zona sta cambiando di nuovo. Ora ci sono
meno operai alla fabbrica. Usano invece robot. E
la gente preferisce vivere fuori, in centri piccoli piuttosto che nella grande città. Ci sono molti appartamenti vuoti nella zona.
189
190
Unit 13: La vita è cambiata
Vocabulary
prati
camminavo sulla terra,
sul fango
non potevo mica
andare in giro
la fabbrica era già qui
gli operai
piuttosto che
meadows
I used to walk on earth, on mud
I really couldn’t (see below)
go around
the factory was already here
the workers (industrial workers)
rather than
Language points
The imperfect: saying what things
were like
To talk about completed actions in the past you use the passato
prossimo. But sometimes you want to look at the past in another
way. To describe the way things were in the past you use the imperfect tense, l’imperfetto. The name does not mean there is something wrong with it; it comes from Latin and means ‘not ﬁnished’.
When you use the imperfect, you are not interested in whether the
action or event is ﬁnished. Gabriella uses it to describe what her
district was like when she and her husband ﬁrst came there as a
young married couple:
Quando siamo venuti a vivere qui c’era la campagna.
When we came to live here, it was the country.
Di fronte c’era una cascina.
La strada non era asfaltata.
Opposite there was a farm.
The road wasn’t made up.
Notice Gabriella says quando siamo venuti – that was an event
which happened at a speciﬁc point in time and then was over and
done with so she uses the passato prossimo.
The imperfect again: saying what you
used to do
You also use the imperfetto for repeated or habitual actions in the
past:
Unit 13: Life has changed
191
Quando andavo a fare la spesa, mettevo un paio di scarpe
vecchie, perché camminavo sulla terra, sul fango. Poi quando
arrivavo sulla strada buona, cambiavo scarpe.
When I went shopping, I used to put on a pair of old shoes
because I used to be walking on dirt, on mud. Then when I
got to the good (made-up) road, I used to change shoes.
The imperfetto is easy to form: you just take the -re off the end
of the inﬁnitive and add the endings as shown below:
cambiare
mettere
preferire
cambiavo
cambiavi
cambiava
cambiavamo
cambiavate
cambiavano
mettevo
mettevi
metteva
mettevamo
mettevate
mettevano
preferivo
preferivi
preferiva
preferivamo
preferivate
preferivano
The stress falls on the penultimate syllable except in the third
person plural when, as in the present, it falls on the antepenultimate syllable, the third syllable from the end of the word. Very few
verbs are irregular, although essere, as you might expect, is; the
others are verbs whose inﬁnitives have become shortened in
modern Italian from earlier longer forms (see Unit 11, the gerund).
essere
fare
dire
bere
produrre
ero
eri
era
eravamo
eravate
erano
facevo
facevi
faceva
facevamo
facevate
facevano
dicevo
dicevi
diceva
dicevamo
dicevate
dicevano
bevevo
bevevi
beveva
bevevamo
bevevate
bevevano
producevo
producevi
produceva
producevamo
producevate
producevano
Also similar to the gerund are:
dare: davo, davi, dava, davamo, davate, davano
stare: stavo, stavi, stava, stavamo, stavate, stavano
Note: When Gabriella said cambiavo scarpe, in English she might
have said ‘I used to change my shoes, I changed my shoes, I would
change my shoes’, all with the same meaning.
192
Unit 13: La vita è cambiata
The imperfect is also used for actions that were going on when
another event occurred:
Parlavo con Angela quando il telefono ha suonato. Sapete chi
era? Era proprio la mamma di Angela che chiamava.
I was talking to Angela when the telephone rang. Do you
know who it was? It was Angela’s mother calling.
In English we would use ‘I was talking’. As was said in relation to
the passato prossimo it is wiser and more proﬁtable to try to avoid
thinking of English and to see the Italian tense system in its own
terms. You have two past tenses, one for actions viewed as
completed and the other for setting the scene, describing, and also
for habitual actions or events. (English has ﬁve.)
Exercise 1
Last summer you attended an enjoyable party at the country house
of some friends of yours. Here you are recalling some of it. We
have helped you, except that you have to put the verbs into the
correct tense. Since you are describing the day and your friends,
you will need to use the tense for descriptions, the imperfect.
Il tempo (1 essere) così bello. (2 Fare) caldo ma non troppo.
La campagna (3 avere) ancora il bel verde della primavera.
I ﬁori (4 avere) un profumo delicatissimo. Tutti gli amici
(5 essere) lì. Anna (6 portare), come al solito, un vestito molto
elegante. Il colore, un giallo chiaro, le (7 andare) benissimo.
Aldo (8 avere) una maglia fatta a mano, molto grande.
(9 Sembrare) strano e preoccupato. Infatti abbiamo saputo che
la sua ditta (10 avere) dei problemi. Meno male che c’
(11 essere) anche Roberto che gli ha parlato e ha potuto
aiutarlo. Anche per questo la festa è stata bella, un grande
successo.
Vocabulary
i ﬁori
le andava benissimo
abbiamo saputo
la sua ditta
meno male
the ﬂowers
it suited her very well
we learned (note how the tense of sapere tells
us that this happened at a precise time,
hence the translation)
his ﬁrm, company
thank goodness, just as well, luckily
Unit 13: Life has changed
Exercise 2
As a free exercise, describe in writing a happy scene you have been
part of in the last year.
Exercise 3
When you were a child, were things very different? Mario is talking
about his childhood around 1960. Complete what he says, but be
careful: often he includes his brothers and sisters or all the family
in what he says, so he will say ‘we. . .’.
Quando ero bambino, le cose (1 essere) diverse. Mio nonno
(2 essere) pescatore. Noi (3 abitare) in Liguria. Mio padre
invece (4 lavorare) in un bar. Noi bambini (5 guardare) la
TV nel bar, non a casa. A casa non (6 avere) la TV. Mia
madre (7 fare) la casalinga. (8 Essere) cinque fratelli e la
mamma (9 avere) molto lavoro da fare. Non (10 mangiare)
spesso la carne ma naturalmente mio nonno (11 portare)
a casa molto pesce. Mia madre (12 fare) i nostri vestiti.
Non (13 essere) ricchi come la gente oggi. Ma (14 divertirsi)
molto. (15 Essere) felici.
pescatore
fare la casalinga
ﬁsherman
she was a housewife
Exercise 4
Has life changed a lot since you were a child? Write down some
of the things you used to do, and things that people did then and
they no longer do today. This is another open-ended exercise.
Exercise 5
There’s been an accident. Nothing serious, thank goodness, but two
cars have hit each other at the trafﬁc lights and the drivers are
looking for witnesses to support their views of what happened.
There’s a bar on the corner so they ask the customers Che cosa
ha visto? Complete the answers.
SIGNORE ANZIANO: Ma, non ho visto niente. (1 Leggere) il giornale.
DUE GIOVANI
Non abbiamo visto niente. (2 Parlarsi)
193
194
Unit 13: La vita è cambiata
INNAMORATI:
CAMERIERE:
SIGNORA CON
BAMBINO:
AUTOMOBILISTA:
e (3 guardarsi).
Non ho visto niente. (4 Essere) al bar. (5
Aspettare) il barista che (6 fare) due cappuccini.
Scusi, non ho visto niente. (7 Aiutare) il
bambino a mangiare il gelato.
Ma possibile, tutta questa gente e non hanno
visto niente!
due giovani innamorati
two young people in love
Do you feel now that you understand better the three uses of the
imperfect? In Exercise 1 it was used to describe what things were
like on one particular day in the past; in Exercise 3 it was used
partly for that and partly to say what people habitually did in the
past. In Exercise 5 it was used to say what people were doing at
a point in time in the past.
The present continuous: stare + gerund
La zona sta cambiando
Gabriella talks about what her district was like when she and her
husband ﬁrst moved there. She goes on to say that the area is changing again: la zona sta cambiando. When there is a need to emphasize that something is happening now, at this moment, Italian uses
stare + gerund, the present continuous. This seems similar to the
English present continuous: ‘the area is changing’. But it is not used
as much as the English version. It is used only when you want to
emphasize that the action is taking place now.
–
–
–
–
Dov’è Carlo?
E’ in cucina, sta preparando la cena.
Where is Carlo?
He’s in the kitchen, he’s getting supper ready.
–
–
–
–
Che cosa stai facendo?
Sto cercando di riparare la macchina.
What are you doing?
I am trying to repair the car.
Unit 13: Life has changed
Exercise 6
The telephone rings and you answer it. The caller would like to
speak to almost anyone in the household except you but they are
all busy. Explain what they are doing.
1 Vorrei parlare con Paolo. (Tell the caller Paolo is having a
shower.) Non può venire al telefono.
2 E Aldo? (Tell the caller Aldo is making a bechamel sauce, una
besciamella.) Non può venire al telefono in questo momento.
3 E Maria? (She’s reading a story (un racconto) to little Anna.)
4 E Margherita? (She’s out. She’s doing the shopping.)
5 E il nonno? (He’s asleep.)
YOU:
Senta. Dico a tutti che Lei ha chiamato e La faccio richiamare appena possibile.
(Look, I’ll tell everyone you called and I’ll get them to call
you back as soon as possible.)
Postscript: stare + gerund
The imperfect of stare + gerund can be used to say what was going
on at a certain point of time in the past when there is a need to
emphasize that the action was in progress.
Ho chiamato Giorgio ma stava facendo la doccia. Così ho
lasciato un messaggio a sua moglie.
I called George but he was having a shower. So I left a
message with his wife.
Scusa, ti ho interrotto. Cosa stavi dicendo?
I’m sorry, I’ve interrupted you. What were you saying?
More negatives
Non . . . mica
Non potevo mica andare in giro con le scarpe coperte di fango,
said Gabriella: ‘I couldn’t go round in shoes covered in mud’. You
learned (see Unit 3) that to make a sentence negative you simply
put non immediately before the verb. In Unit 11 you met non
. . . niente/nulla. Here Gabriella uses a commonly heard form:
195
196
Unit 13: La vita è cambiata
non . . . mica. It is used to strengthen the negative. (In English you
might say ‘I couldn’t go round in shoes covered in mud, could I?’.)
Other ways of emphasizing the negative are non . . . affatto, non
. . . per niente, non . . . per nulla. Mica belongs very much to the
spoken language. The other forms are more acceptable in writing.
Non è mica vero/non è affatto vero.
It’s not true at all.
Non lo conosco mica/non lo conosco affatto.
I don’t know him at all.
Non lo conosco per niente.
I don’t know him at all.
Non è per nulla vero.
It isn’t true at all.
The remote past, passato remoto
There is another past tense called, in Italian, the passato remoto.
It is little used in spoken Italian in the north; in the centre of Italy,
it is more common and it is used a lot in the south. Strictly its use
is for completed events and actions in a remote past that has no
link with the present, i.e. it is similar to the passato prossimo but
for a remote, not a recent, past. Because storytelling implies a
remoteness from the events being recounted, it is usually used in
novels and, of course, in history books. Some Italians use it when
recounting something that has happened to them but which they
now regard as ﬁnished. They become ‘storytellers’ temporarily.
Many native speakers hardly ever use the passato remoto and the
foreign learner can safely defer learning it until he is an advanced
student. For completeness and for recognition when necessary, the
forms are given in the ‘Grammar summary’.
Cultural point
Gabriella talked about the changes in her neighbourhood in Turin
since she moved there in 1967. From a zone where a factory had
been built on a greenﬁeld site, it developed into a built-up area,
becoming part of the city; and now the factory has automated much
of the work, or moved it away from northern Italy, so people are
tending to move away, seeking a different lifestyle in small towns.
Unit 13: Life has changed
Italy has undergone huge and very rapid change since the
Second World War ended in 1945. It needs to be remembered that
before the war Italy was a backward, rural society and in 1945 was
emerging from twenty years of Fascist rule as well as from being
a battleground. Italians had an opportunity to build their country
afresh. It was a time of hope and optimism, not only in Italy.
By 1995,* the ﬁftieth anniversary of the end of the war, things
were very different: Italy was one of the foremost industrialized
countries in the world and living standards had never been higher,
but society was very different and, furthermore, the political system
was in crisis. The framework set up by the post-war constitution,
popularly known as the First Republic, had collapsed following
revelations of widespread corruption in politics and business. In
March 1994 a new government, which many had hoped would usher
in a Second Republic, was elected, but just before the end of the
year it had fallen. The much hoped for Second Republic seemed
to have failed.
Reading
The article that follows appeared in La Stampa on 2 January 1995.
The year marked the ﬁftieth anniversary of the end of the Second
World War. We reproduce extracts, by kind permission of the
writer, Lietta Tornabuoni, because it gives some idea of this social
change which is why we reproduce the article, even though even
more years have passed. The changes since 1995 are of a different
order and politically not a great deal has been achieved.
Read the passage carefully, more than once, listening to the
recording if you have it. Many of the words are guessable and you
should ﬁnd you can answer the questions below after two or three
readings, if not sooner. Then read the notes and ﬁnally come back
to the passage again. At that stage you can look up any words you
haven’t managed to work out.
1 In the opinion of the writer, what one thing did Italy have for
the ﬁrst time ever at the end of the Second World War?
2 List at least three material goods that Italians did not have at
the time.
* When the ﬁrst edition of Colloquial Italian was written.
197
198
Unit 13: La vita è cambiata
3 The writer says fewer than 7 per cent of Italians had all of
three basic amenities. What were they?
4 What did almost two million Italians do between 1946 and
1957? Why?
5 What do you learn about the Italian language at the end of the
Second World War?
6 According to Lietta Tornabuoni, what values guided people at
the end of the Second World War, and how do they compare
with 1995 values (which are also not very different from
today’s)?
7 At the end, the writer lists a number of aspects of life that
have improved and one that has not. What is that?
l’Italia 1945–1995
Con gli occhi aperti
Cinquant’anni fa, ﬁnita la seconda guerra mondiale, c’era in Italia,
per la prima volta, la democrazia. Non c’erano la televisione,
la lavatrice, la plastica, l’automobile come veicolo di massa, la
pubblicità come linguaggio collettivo, l’elettronica coi suoi computers. Non c’era granchè da mangiare, nelle macerie belliche
mancavano gli alloggi: e neppure il sette per cento delle famiglie
aveva in casa elettricità, acqua potabile e gabinetto insieme. Non
c’era lavoro, bisognava andarselo a cercare fuori, tra il 1946 e il
1957 quasi due milioni di persone emigrarono per lavorare nelle
Americhe o in Europa: erano gli unici viaggi degli Italiani e per
chi restava i salari erano miseri. Non c’era una lingua comune,
davvero usata, quotidiana: al di là dei libri, della scuola, delle leggi
o dei documenti, l’italiano rimaneva un’astrazione, si parlavano i
dialetti. Non c’era la pratica del consumo, ma l’etica del risparmio;
non la pratica dell’edonismo, ma l’etica del sacriﬁcio. Paese rurale,
l’Italia era pure un paese sottosviluppato.
In cinquant’anni, la nostra vita è immensamente cambiata,
migliorata. Meno fame, meno fatica, meno freddo, meno malattie,
più benessere, più libertà, più diritti, più informazione, più divertimento: sono dati indiscutibili . . . Certo è che all’evoluzione del
modo di vivere non ha corrisposto l’evoluzione del sistema
politico. . . .
(Lietta Tornabuoni, La Stampa, 2 gennaio 1995)
Unit 13: Life has changed
Vocabulary
non c’era granchè da
mangiare
macerie belliche
mancavano gli alloggi
bisognava andarselo a
cercare fuori
le Americhe
misero/a
al di là di
risparmio
sottosviluppato
there wasn’t much to eat
rubble, ruins, left by the war
there was a housing shortage
it was necessary to go off and ﬁnd it for
oneself outside (Italy)
the Americas, North and South
paltry, poor, wretched
beyond, outside
saving, thrift
underdeveloped
Language points
coi (con + i)
Coi suoi computers
coi is con + i. Some speakers and writers join con to il (col) and
i (coi). It is, however, quite acceptable to say and write con il and
con i.
Some more negatives: neppure, neanche,
nemmeno
neppure means ‘not even, neither’. neanche and nemmeno mean
the same and work the same way.
Non ho neppure 10 euro
neanche
nemmeno
As with niente, nulla, mica, affatto, there needs to be a non before
the verb. (See also Unit 15.)
emigrarono
emigrarono means ‘emigrated’. This is a passato remoto, third
person plural. The writer considers the phenomenon of mass
199
200
Unit 13: La vita è cambiata
emigration as belonging to the past, as indeed it does. Italy is now
experiencing immigration from poorer countries, particularly North
Africa and Eastern Europe.
Word power
Superﬁcially, the passage looks difﬁcult. This is partly because to
an eye brought up on the English language, words of Latin origin
seem erudite. Italian however has grown from Latin, with various
other inﬂuences mixed in. Words of Latin origin are part and parcel
of the normal everyday vocabulary of the man or woman in the
Italian street. So rule number one when faced with a passage in
Italian is: expect Latinisms.
The passage also contains quite a high proportion of abstract
words and this gives the reader a feeling it is difﬁcult. But such
words are particularly guessable. Intelligent guessing is invaluable
when dealing with a foreign language. Using a dictionary takes
time and you may not always have one handy. When faced with a
word you have not met before you should try to guess. Here are
three possible approaches:
1 Does it look like a word I know in English? democrazia was an
easy one. Or veicolo. Slip in an ‘h’: ‘vehicle’.
2 Sometimes you may not be able to make the link with an English
word but you may recognize part of the word as being similar
to an Italian word you know. For example, lavatrice contains
lava and you may be able to link that with lavare ‘to wash’, and
then guess that a lavatrice is some sort of person or machine
that washes.
novità may not immediately suggest ‘novelty’ to you, but it
may make you think of nuovo. Or, to return to the ﬁrst strategy,
perhaps that would take you to ‘innovation’ and from there to
‘something new’. In the case of sottosviluppato, you have met
sotto ‘under’ and sviluppo ‘development’. migliorata: do you
remember migliore ‘better’? And benessere is bene + essere ‘to
be well’. What would malessere mean?
3 Occasionally neither of these approaches works but you may be
able to guess from the context. For instance you have not so
far met the word gabinetto, used in elettricità, acqua potabile e
gabinetto insieme. You will realize from the rest of the sentence
Unit 13: Life has changed
that the author is saying that, in 1945, most Italian homes did
not have available all three of certain basic conveniences, which
we take for granted today. So you might be able to guess that
the third of the trio was a ﬂush lavatory. This type of guessing
is however to be used with caution as it can lead the guesser
astray.
201
14 Alla salute!
Here’s to your health!
In this unit you will learn about:
• The difference between sera/serata, giorno/giornata
• Object pronouns: with the inﬁnitive, the imperative and ecco;
the order when there are two of them
• The human body: il corpo umano
• Saying you are not well
• Saying you have given something up – another negative
Dialogue 1
Una distorsione alla caviglia
Enzo had planned to go to the cinema yesterday evening with his
friends Piero and Elena. However he had a bad cold, so he stayed
at home. Now he is telephoning them to hear what they thought of
the ﬁlm.
1 How is Enzo’s cold today?
2 Did Piero and Elena enjoy the ﬁlm?
3 What must Elena avoid doing for a week?
ENZO:
PIERO:
ENZO:
PIERO:
ENZO:
Pronto. Ciao Piero, sei tu? Come stai?
Io bene, grazie, e il tuo raffreddore?
Un po’ meglio oggi, grazie. Scusa se non sono venuto
con voi ieri. Stavo proprio male. E il ﬁlm? Come l’avete
trovato? Vi è piaciuto?
Ma non ci siamo andati.
Come mai? Che cosa è successo?
Unit 14: Here’s to your health!
PIERO:
ENZO:
PIERO:
Beh, uscendo di casa Elena è caduta e si è fatta una
brutta distorsione alla caviglia. Così invece di andare al
cinema, abbiamo passato la serata al pronto soccorso.
Oh, mi dispiace. Come va adesso Elena?
E qui, accanto a me, sdraiata, con il piede su un cuscino.
Non deve assolutamente mettere il piede a terra per
sette giorni. Vuoi parlarle? Te la passo. Ciao.
Vocabulary
una brutta distorsione
alla caviglia
pronto soccorso
sdraiata
a nasty ankle sprain
hospital emergency service
lying down
Language points
Using sera/serata, giorno/giornata
sera refers to the evening as a point in time, i.e. as opposed to the
morning or the afternoon.
Vuoi andare dalla nonna questa sera o domani
pomeriggio?
Do you want to go to grandmother’s this evening or
tomorrow afternoon?
203
204
Unit 14: Alla salute!
Lavorare dalla mattina alla sera.
To work from morning to night (evening).
You use serata when thinking about the evening as a period of
time, about how the evening is spent. Hence:
Abbiamo passato la serata al pronto soccorso.
We spent the evening at the hospital emergency department.
le lunghe serate invernali
the long winter evenings
Compare also giorno/giornata. giorno is used for the day as a point
in time:
– Che giorno è oggi?
– What day is it today?
– E’ mercoledì.
– It’s Wednesday.
Ci sono sette giorni in una settimana.
There are seven days in a week.
You use giornata when you are thinking about how the daylight
hours are spent, the conditions and events in them:
E’ stata davvero una giornata bellissima.
It really was a lovely day (meaning ‘the weather was
wonderful’, or ‘we had a marvellous time’).
People wish you Buona giornata! ‘Have a nice day!’ and Buona
serata! ‘Have a nice evening!’ as opposed to Buongiorno, Buona
sera, which are simply greetings without thought about how the day
or evening might be spent. The same distinction is true but less
commonly met for: mattina/mattinata and anno/annata. Un’annata
buona is used in agricultural circles when talking about a ‘good
year’ referring to the quality of the crop that year. When making
a rather imprecise appointment you might say:
Passo da te in mattinata/in serata/in giornata.
I’ll call on you during the morning/the evening/the day.
More about personal pronouns:
object form
Here are three points about the position of pronouns.
(1) You will remember you were told these pronouns are placed
immediately before the verb, but Piero says:
Unit 14: Here’s to your health!
Vuoi parlarle?
Do you want to talk to her?
When used with an inﬁnitive, the object pronoun follows the inﬁnitive with its ﬁnal e removed and since the two run together in the
sound, they are written joined to it:
Carlo sta suonando il pianoforte. Mi piace sentirlo.
Carlo’s playing the piano. I like to hear him.
Dicono che il nuovo ﬁlm è molto bello. Andiamo a vederlo
stasera.
They say the new ﬁlm is very good. Let’s go and see it this
evening.
Pronto, Carla? Ciao. Senti, è arrivato Bernardo. Perché non
vieni a trovarlo domani da noi?
Hello, is that Carla? Hi. Bernardo’s arrived. Why don’t you
come and see him at our house tomorrow?
Usually the inﬁnitive will follow another verb as in the above examples, but not necessarily:
Dargli la mia macchina? Neanche per sogno.
Give him my car? Never in a thousand years
(lit. ‘not even in a dream’).
When the ﬁrst verb is one from that useful trio volere, dovere,
potere, the pronoun may be put either before that verb or after
the inﬁnitive:
– Hai telefonato a Giorgio?
– Non ancora. Gli devo telefonare oggi.
Devo telefonargli oggi.
– Have you telephoned Giorgio?
– Not yet. I must ring him today.
–
–
–
–
Hai ﬁnito il libro che stavi leggendo?
No. Lo vorrei ﬁnire oggi. /Vorrei ﬁnirlo oggi.
Have you ﬁnished the book you were reading?
No. I’d like to ﬁnish it today.
–
–
–
–
Quando può fare questa riparazione?
La posso fare domani. /Posso farla domani.
When can you do this repair?
I can do it tomorrow.
205
206
Unit 14: Alla salute!
It is simpler for the learner to stick to the second model, thus treating all verbs the same way, but be prepared for the other usage.
(2)
The direct object pronouns are also attached to ecco:
– Eccomi.
– Here I am.
– Eccoci.
– Here we are.
– Dov’è Giorgio?
– Where’s Giorgio?
– Sta arrivando. Eccolo.
– He’s coming. Here he is.
Dove abbiamo lasciato la macchina? Ah, eccola.
Where did we leave the car? Ah, there it is.
(3) Imperatives: the object pronouns, including reﬂexive pronouns,
are attached to the ends of imperatives (although there is one
exception).
Scusami, Maria. Ti ho fatto male?
Forgive me, Maria. Did I hurt you?
Non preoccuparti.
Don’t worry.
In this case you have an imperative formed with the inﬁnitive.
Ditelo coi ﬁori.
Accomodatevi.
Divertiamoci.
Say it with ﬂowers.
Take a seat.
Let’s enjoy ourselves.
Dimmi, Gianni, cosa pensi?
Tell me, Gianni, what do you think?
Note: The doubling of the m in dimmi is a small point. The verbs
in which this happens are andare (va’), dare (da’), dire (di’), fare
(fa’) and stare (sta’). The tu form of the imperative of these verbs
is a monosyllable. The initial consonant of any object pronoun
doubles when it is attached to these monosyllables. This applies to
all the object pronouns except gli. However, the one most
commonly heard is mi:
Fammi vedere la foto.
Show me the photo (make/let me see the photo).
Facci un piacere.
Dammi la tua valigia.
Dammi la mano.
Dagli la mia chiave.
Do us a favour.
Give me your suitcase.
Give me your hand.
Give him my key.
Unit 14: Here’s to your health!
The exception to the rule that the object pronoun is attached to
the end of the imperative is the formal, third person imperative.
In this case the pronoun precedes the verb:
Mi scusi, signore. Le ho fatto male?
I am sorry, sir. Did I hurt you?
Mi dica.
S’accomodi.
Tell me. (see below)
Take a seat/ sit down.
It helps to use commonly heard forms as models for these rather
tricky points. You will hear:
From your friends
(tu form)
From people you do not
know well (Lei)
Scusami
Dimmi
Mi scusi
Mi dica
Si sieda
S’accomodi
Siediti
dimmi/mi dica are often heard. When you claim a friend’s attention by saying his/her name, the response will very often be dimmi
or dimmi tutto. And it is very common for a waiter, a shop assistant etc. to say mi dica to indicate he/she is ready to listen to you.
Exercise 1
Finish these remarks as indicated. You will need to use a pronoun.
Example: Ho ﬁnito di leggere il giornale.
(Do you want to see it?)
Answer: Vuoi vederlo tu?/Lo vuoi vedere tu?
1 Gianni è un amico molto caro.
(He comes to see us often.)
2 Sabato è il compleanno di Andrea.
(I’d like to invite him to supper.)
3 Hai già scritto al signor Lombardi?
(No, I must write to him today.)
4 Buongiorno, signora.
(Can I help you?)
5 Sei mai stato a Parigi?
(No, I hope to go there this year.)
207
208
Unit 14: Alla salute!
Exercise 2
Answer the following using ecco and a pronoun:
1 Dove sono i bambini?
2 Ha il passaporto, signore?
3 Dove sei?
4 Mi dà le chiavi, per piacere?
Exercise 3
How would you say the following (a) to a person you do not know
well, i.e. using Lei, and (b) to a friend?
1 Enjoy yourself!
2 Do me a favour.
3 Give me the key, please.
4 Tell him to come tomorrow.
Combining pronouns
You saw in Unit 12 that when ci and ne occur in the same sentence,
ci comes ﬁrst and changes to ce: Ce ne sono tre. This also happens
with mi, ti, ci (‘us, to us’), vi and the reﬂexive pronoun si before
another object pronoun. Piero says:
Te la passo.
I’ll pass her to you.
Similarly:
Me lo dici?
Are you going to tell me?
(lit. ‘Are you telling me?’)
Ce li manda.
He’s sending them to us.
The order is always:
(1)
mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si
followed by:
(2)
lo, la, li, le, ne.
Note: Remember: Ce n’è per tutti, Unit 13, where ci is a subject
pronoun. The change to ce applies to ci whether used as subject
or object, referring to a person or an object, or meaning ‘there’ if
there is another pronoun following.
Unit 14: Here’s to your health!
What about gli, le singular and gli plural? All three become:
glie and precede lo, la, li, le. The resulting sound group is written
as one word:
Glielo dico domani.
I’ll tell you (it) tomorrow.
him
her
them
Without a context the Italian phrase could mean any of the English
versions. How are you going to learn this? Find some model
sentences. A once popular song with the ‘orchestrine’ in Venice
went:
Me lo dai? me lo dai? me lo dai un bel bacin?
Will you give me . . . a nice little kiss?
(bacin is a diminutive of bacio ‘a kiss’.) The line from the song
could be transformed:
Me la dai? Me li dai? Me le dai? Me ne dai?
Will you give it/them/some of them to me?
Te lo do. Te la do. Te li do. Te le do. Te ne do.
I am giving (will give) it/them/some of them to you.
Glielo do. Gliela do. Glieli do. Gliele do. Gliene do. ecc.
I am giving it/some of it to him/her/them. etc.
Exercise 4
Complete the following using a double pronoun:
Example: – Pronto. C’è il signor Rossi?
(I’ll put you through straight away)
Answer: – Glielo passo subito.
1 – Hai fatto quel lavoro per me?
(I’ll do it for you tomorrow.)
2 – Scusi, signorina. Non capisco questo modulo.*
(I’ll explain it to you.)
3 – Ho comprato un nuovo frigo.
(They are bringing it to us tomorrow.)
4 – Sai che Alberto ha un nuovo lavoro?
(Yes, he told me about it† on Saturday)
* modulo ‘form’ (to ﬁll in)
†
use parlare di
209
210
Unit 14: Alla salute!
The human body: il corpo humano
l’orecchio
gli occhi
la bocca
il collo
i denti
la testa
i capelli
il viso
il braccio
la spalla
il polso
la mano
la gamba
la caviglia
il piede
Unit 14: Here’s to your health!
211
Vocabulary
Altre parole utili
la gola
lo stomaco
il sangue
i reni
throat
stomach
blood
the kidneys
il cuore
la pelle
i polmoni
il fegato
heart
skin
the lungs
the liver
It is usual not to use the possessive adjective with parts of the body
unless it is necessary to make clear whose body the part belongs
to (i.e. in rather unusual circumstances).
Elena è accanto a me con il piede su un cuscino.
Si è fatta una brutta distorsione alla caviglia.
There is no doubt whose foot is on the cushion – Elena’s. And the
same goes for the ankle. Similarly:
Mi lavo le mani.
I am washing/wash my hands.
Dialogue 2
Dal medico
1 What are the patient’s symptoms?
2 What is the doctor’s diagnosis?
3 What treatment does he recommend?
MEDICO:
PAZIENTE:
MEDICO:
PAZIENTE:
MEDICO:
Buongiorno, signore.
Buongiorno, dottore. Ho mal di gola, e mal di testa
e mi fa male anche lo stomaco, non ho appetito e mi
sento stanco da morire.
Vediamo un po’. (He takes the patient’s temperature
and examines him.) Lei ha la febbre alta. Dovrebbe
essere a letto.
Che cosa è, dottore?
E solo questa brutta inﬂuenza che c’è in giro
quest’anno. Le do delle pastiglie e uno sciroppo ma
è molto importante tornare a casa, mettersi a letto e
riposarsi bene. Bisogna anche bere molto: acqua, tè
leggero, eccetera. Niente alcool. E non deve tornare
a lavorare se non quando non avrà più la febbre.
212
Unit 14: Alla salute!
Vocabulary
mi sento stanco da morire
vediamo un po’
Lei ha la febbre alta
questa brutta inﬂuenza che
c’è in giro
niente alcool
se non quando non avrà
più la febbre
I feel dead tired
let’s see, let’s have a look
you have a high temperature
(avere la febbre)
this nasty inﬂuenza that is going round
no alcohol
until you no longer have a temperature
Saying you are not well
stare male
sto meglio
to be unwell
I feel/am better
sto bene
I’m well
sentirsi bene/male
non mi sento bene
to feel well/ill
I don’t feel well
si sente male
ti senti meglio?
he feels poorly
do you feel better?
ho mal di testa
stomaco
schiena
denti
gola
I have a headache
stomach-ache
back ache
toothache
sore throat
mi fa male la caviglia
mi fanno male gli occhi*
my ankle hurts
my eyes hurt
* ‘Eyes’ are of course plural, hence also the plural verb.
The word for ‘pain’ is dolore (m.). ‘A prescription’ is una ricetta.
And you have already met the false friend: essere ricoverato/a ‘to
be admitted to hospital’. ricoverare qualcuno d’urgenza means
‘to admit someone to hospital as an emergency case’.
Unit 14: Here’s to your health!
Language point
Using non . . . più ‘no longer,
not any more’
Quando non avrà più la febbre
When you no longer have a high temperature
Avrà is the future of ‘have’ – see Unit 16.
Una volta Paolo mi scriveva regolarmente ma da un po’
non mi scrive più.
At one time Paolo used to write to me regularly but for a
while he hasn’t written any more.
As with the other negatives, you must put non before the verb.
With a passato prossimo the più goes before the past particple:
Non ha più detto niente.
He didn’t say anything (any) more.
Exercise 5
You are being asked by your doctor about your habits. Answer
saying you used to do all these things but you don’t any more.
Example: Mangia cioccolata?
Answer: Una volta, sì, ne mangiavo ma ora non ne
mangio più.
1 Fuma?
2 Beve molto?
3 Mangia carne rossa?
4 Dorme male?
Exercise 6
Things have changed. Write a new sentence based on the one given
saying that it’s not happening any more. Say what the resulting
sentence means.
Example: Ci parlavamo spesso.
Answer: Non ci parliamo più.
We don’t talk to each other anymore.
1 Lo vedevo spesso.
2 Mi scriveva spesso.
3 Lo aiutavo.
4 Ci telefonavamo.
213
214
Unit 14: Alla salute!
Cultural point
Italy has a National Health Service, under the Minstero della Salute
(www.ministero.salute.it), which, in conception, was based on the
British health service, although it was introduced well over thirty
years later. It is ﬁnanced by contributions paid by workers but, as
in other countries, is struggling to cope with increasing demands
on it.
Prescription charges (il ticket) have long been payable. They
vary according to the patient’s means and also are frequently
changed by governments in the annual budget provisions. Sufferers
from certain, usually long-term, illnesses, are exempt. There are
also charges for various services such as blood tests, X-rays etc.
There is no parallel private service but there are many private
organizations, which have agreements with the National Health
Service to carry out such tests. Many people prefer to use them
because they are quick and efﬁcient, whereas the waiting time for
tests in hospital is long. The patient again pays il ticket, the standard charge.
Italians tend also to go straight to a specialist they trust (uno
specialista di ﬁducia) rather than going ﬁrst to their general practitioner. They will usually do this privately, i.e. they will pay a fee.
Voluntary workers also play a part in provision. For instance, the
main organization collecting blood from donors, AVIS, is a voluntary organisation (www.avis.it).
15 Buona fortuna!
Good luck!
In this unit you will learn about:
• Saying what you would do if: the conditional
• How to say ‘never’, ‘not yet’, ‘no one’ and ‘neither . . .
nor’
• Offering to do something, insisting on doing something
• The imperfect subjunctive: saying if something were the case
• The subjunctive and other moods/modes
• The pluperfect subjunctive and the past conditional
• Ways of saying ‘perhaps’: forse, può darsi and magari
• A way of expressing doubt: chissà?
Dialogue 1
La lotteria
In Italy there are various lotteries, some of which have very big
prizes. One is the lotteria gratta e vinci – scratch and win. You
buy a card and scratch the pictures on it with a coin: you see immediately whether or not you have won. Three friends, Edoardo, Filippo
and Elisa, are enjoying a coffee on the terrace outside a bar . . .
1 Does Filippo often buy lottery tickets?
2 What would he do if he won?
3 And Elisa?
EDOARDO:
FILIPPO:
ELISA:
FILIPPO:
Compriamo dei biglietti della lotteria?
Io non vinco mai niente alla lotteria.
Compri spesso i biglietti?
Raramente.
216
Unit 15: Buona fortuna!
ELISA:
Per questo non vinci mai. Come vuoi vincere se non
compri biglietti? Dai, compriamo dei biglietti.
Va bene.
FILIPPO:
EDOARDO: Vado io a prenderli.
Che cosa faresti se vincessi?
ELISA:
Mah, non lo so. Comprerei una macchina nuova.
FILIPPO:
Magari vi porterei a fare il giro del mondo. E tu Elisa?
Comprerei una casa al mare. Ci metterei un pianoforte
ELISA:
a coda. Prenderei delle lezioni di piano e passerei le
mie giornate a suonare. Inviterei anche gli amici.
Quando non suonassi, starei in cucina a preparare dei
buoni piatti. Sarebbe una festa continua . . .
EDOARDO: Allora, ecco il tuo biglietto, Elisa. E il tuo, Filippo.
Gratta e vedi se hai vinto.
FILIPPO:
Sì, ho vinto!
Oh, che bello. Facciamo il giro del mondo!
ELISA:
Macchè giro del mondo! Ho vinto cinquanta euro!
FILIPPO:
Vocabulary notes
dai ‘go on, come on’. From dare and used to encourage someone to do
something.
vado io a prenderli ‘I’ll go and get them’
ho vinto ‘I’ve won’. vincere has an irregular past participle: vinto.
macchè ‘You’re joking!’ (rough translation). It expresses strong
contradiction of what has just been said.
cinquanta euro 50 euros. At the time of writing this might buy a
modest restaurant meal for the three friends.
Unit 15: Good luck!
217
Language points
Saying what you would do if: the
conditional
You have met this quite often: vorrei, dovrei, potrei, mi piacerebbe
etc. And now you have heard people talk about what they would
do if they won money in a lottery. The base for the conditional is
the inﬁnitive without the ﬁnal -e. Here are several verbs: pick out
the ending:
dire
fare
dare
prendere
partire
direi
diresti
direbbe
diremmo
direste
direbbero
farei
faresti
farebbe
faremmo
fareste
farebbero
darei
daresti
darebbe
daremmo
dareste
darebbero
prenderei
prenderesti
prenderebbe
prenderemmo
prendereste
prenderebbero
partirei
partiresti
partirebbe
partiremmo
partireste
partirebbero
The stress falls on the penultimate syllable, except in the third person plural when it falls on the antepenultimate syllable (ebbero).
Note: In the ﬁrst person singular, the -e- of the -ei ending is a
syllable.
A complication is that -are verbs make an additional change.
The a in the inﬁnitive ending becomes an e, so that they work like
-ere verbs:
comprare
comprerei
compreresti
comprerebbe
compreremmo
comprereste
comprerebbero
Predictably, essere is irregular:
sarei
saresti
sarebbe
saremmo
sareste
sarebbero
218
Unit 15: Buona fortuna!
A handful of other verbs, some of which you have already met
and got used to, are irregular. They fall into three groups:
1 Verbs like potere which forms potrei: the e between the t and
the r has disappeared. Other common verbs like this are:
dovere
andare
vivere
→
→
→
dovrei
andrei
vivrei
vedere
sapere
avere
→
→
→
vedrei
saprei
avrei
2 Other verbs, like volere which forms vorrei, not only have the
shortened form but the ﬁrst consonant changes and becomes the
same as the second, giving -rr-. Common ones are: rimanere →
rimarrei; venire → verrei. bere is a bit of an oddball and can
be thought of as being in this group: berrei.
3 The verbs dare, fare, stare, make their conditional form thus:
dare
stare
→
→
darei
starei
fare
→
farei
The conditional is used to:
• express what you would do if . . .
• ask politely, make requests seem less assertive, make suggestions in a way that is more polite, even charming, as you have
already seen:
Dovresti riposarti domani.
You ought to rest tomorrow.
Saresti molto gentile se . . .
You would be very kind if you . . .
Potresti aiutarmi?
Could you help me?
Dovrebbe essere a letto
(Unit 14, Dialogue 2)
Exercise 1
This is what Marco would do if he won a really big prize in a
lottery. Write it in Italian.
Example: He would go to Australia.
Answer: Andrebbe in Australia.
Unit 15: Good luck!
1
2
3
4
5
He would move house. (cambiare casa)
He would buy a house with a garden.
He would marry Anita. (sposarsi con)
They would learn to play golf.
He would not give up work. (smettere di lavorare)
Exercise 2
Well, what would you do if you won the big prize in a lottery?
This is an open-ended exercise.
Using non . . . mai ‘never, not ever’
Here is another negative. As with niente, mica, più, you must have
non before the verb:
Non escono mai la sera. A loro non piace lasciare i bambini
con una babysitter.
They never go out in the evening. They don’t like leaving
the children with a babysitter.
Non beve mai alcool.
He/she never drinks alcohol.
Non ho mai capito perché.
I never understood/have never understood why.
Exercise 3
You are being asked whether you do certain things. They are things
you would never dream of doing! Say so using mai.
1
2
3
4
5
Lei fuma?
Beve vodka?
Va spesso in discoteca?
Compra cibi surgelati (frozen food)?
Cammina per la strada a piedi nudi?
Other negative expressions
You have now met several negative expressions. The remaining
ones are:
219
220
Unit 15: Buona fortuna!
• non . . . ancora ‘not yet’
Non abbiamo ancora mangiato. Perché non viene a
mangiare con noi?
We haven’t eaten yet. Why don’t you come and eat
with us?
Non sono ancora pronto. Puoi aspettare?
I’m not ready yet. Can you wait?
Note: ancora without non means ‘still’:
E’ ancora molto giovane.
C’è ancora tempo.
He’s still very young.
There’s still time.
or it can be used thus:
Vuoi ancora dell’insalata?
Do you want some more salad?
C’è ancora del caffè?
Is there still (any more) coffee?
• non . . . nessuno ‘no one’, ‘nobody’, ‘not . . . anyone’
Non conosco nessuno a Napoli.
I don’t know anyone in Naples.
Non abbiamo visto nessuno.
We didn’t see anyone.
It can also precede the verb, in which case non is not used:
Nessuno fa le lasagne al forno come mia madre.
No one makes lasagne like my mother.
nessuno can also be used with a noun, i.e. as an adjective. It
then behaves like un. When there is a verb and nessuno comes
after it, non must precede it:
Non si vende in nessun negozio in questo paese.
It’s not sold in any shop in this village.
• nè . . . nè ‘neither . . . nor’, ‘not . . . either . . . or’
Non conosco nè la signora Biondi nè suo marito.
I know neither Mrs Biondi nor her husband/ I don’t know
either Mrs Biondi or her husband.
Nè Mario nè Carla possono venire.
Neither Mario nor Carla can come.
Unit 15: Good luck!
Notice in the second case, since nè . . . nè precede the verb, non
is not necessary. This is always the case when the negative
expression precedes the verb.
Most negatives can be used alone:
– Sei andato negli Stati Uniti? – Mai.
– Have you been to the United States? – Never.
– Chi ti ha aiutato a fare tutto il lavoro? – Nessuno.
– Who helped you do all the work? – No one.
– Che cosa hai imparato alla conferenza? – Niente. Non ho
capito!
– What did you learn at the lecture? – Nothing. I didn’t
understand!
Reminder: When used with the passato prossimo, niente, nulla and
nessuno go after the past participle. The other negatives go before
the past participle.
Non ho mangiato niente.
Non ho visto nessuno.
But:
Non ho mai visto il presidente.
più
ancora
With nè the negative word goes in front of what it is negating:
Non ho nè mangiato nè bevuto.
Non ho mangiato nè carne nè pesce.
Exercise 4
Say the opposite of the following.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Vado spesso al cinema.
Vedo molta gente nella piazza.
A Maria piace tanto la musica rock.
Carlo ha molti amici.
Mangio sempre al ristorante.
Il direttore beve molto.
Ho molto da fare.
E’ già arrivato il professore.
221
222
Unit 15: Buona fortuna!
Offering to do something, insisting on
doing something
How does Edoardo offer to get the lottery tickets? Vado io a prenderli. One of the cases in which you use the pronoun io rather
than omitting it, is when you are offering to do something. In
English you would stress the ‘I’ with your voice. In Italian you put
it after the verb:
Lo faccio io.
I’ll do it.
Pago io.
I’m paying.
Dialogue 2
Se fossi in te
Aldo, whose Sicilian holiday we heard about, is troubled. He has
been asked by the company he works for to move to the US for two
years to oversee a new development the company is planning. It is a
promotion and a challenge he would love to accept. But his wife has
her career and the children are in high school (liceo). Enrico spots
him looking glum in the canteen and gets him talking.
1 Is Patrizia, Aldo’s wife, pleased at the prospect of two years in
the US?
2 Why does Aldo think it may be difﬁcult for Maria to go?
3 Enrico thinks it may offer exciting possibilities for Patrizia. In
what way?
4 Why does Enrico think it’s an opportunity for the children?
ENRICO:
ALDO:
ENRICO:
ALDO:
Bravo, congratulazioni. E’ un’occasione meravigliosa.
Patrizia dev’essere molto contenta.
Magari! Non ho ancora avuto il coraggio di parlargliene.
Se fosse casalinga . . . Ma ha il suo lavoro che non
lascerebbe mai.
Ah, capisco.
Poi ci sono i ragazzi. Maria è all’ultimo anno di liceo.
Ha la maturità quest’anno e dovrebbe iscriversi all’
università in autunno.
Unit 15: Good luck!
ENRICO:
ALDO:
ENRICO:
ALDO:
ENRICO:
Guarda, Aldo. Se fossi in te, ne parlerei subito con
Patrizia. Tenerti tutto per te non risolve niente. E poi,
chissà? Potrebbe essere un’opportunità anche per lei.
Può darsi che possa avere un anno o due di aspettativa.
Forse potrebbe lavorare anche negli Stati Uniti o magari
fare un master. Lì sono all’avanguardia nel suo campo.
Non avevo pensato a questo. E’ vero. Se potesse
aggiornarsi in un’università, ne avrebbe vantaggi per il
suo lavoro. Ma i ragazzi, come potrei convincerli? Se
avessero 4 o 5 anni, se facessero ancora le elementari.
Ma hanno la loro vita, le loro amicizie. Alla loro età è
difﬁcile partire.
Ma Aldo, non lo sai? Due anni negli Stati Uniti e il loro
inglese sarebbe perfetto. Oggi è tanto importante per
un giovane conoscere bene l’inglese. E anche per loro
ci sono possibilità nel campo degli studî.
In effetti, hai ragione.
Se fossi in te, presenterei la cosa come una decisione
collettiva da prendere insieme nell’interesse dell’intera
famiglia.
Vocabulary notes
se fossi in te
magari!
‘if I were you’ (you can say se fossi te, but in is often
used; fossi is explained below, p. 224)
‘if only she were!’ (in this context; see below, p. 229)
223
224
Unit 15: Buona fortuna!
maturità*
the high school leaving certiﬁcate in Italy
(necessary to enrol in a university: see notes)
aggiornarsi
‘to get up to date’
le elementari ‘elementary’ or ‘primary school’ (classi is understood)
The imperfect subjunctive: ‘If I were
you . . .’
When you express an idea needing the conditional in the main
clause, you need the imperfect subjunctive in the ‘if’ clause. The
idea you are expressing is that if something were the case, then
certain things would follow. You are talking about the improbable
or even impossible.
Se io fossi in te, direi tutto a Patrizia.
If I were you, I would tell Patrizia everything.
Se avessi tempo, lo farei volentieri ma oggi non posso.
If I had time I would happily do it but today I can’t.
Se potesse, ci aiuterebbe.
If he/she could, he/she would help us.
The subjunctive and other moods/modes
Language learners tend to panic at the word subjunctive, but they
should try not to. What follows is technical but is given to try to
clarify what the subjunctive is. Italian grammarians classify verbs
into modi. This is usually translated into English by the word
‘mood’ but ‘mode’ might convey the sense better since the word
refers to the manner in which the speaker presents the action or
state of the verb. The modi are:
(a) Modi ﬁniti: these have tenses and different forms for each
person.
1 The indicative (indicativo), the mood/mode for presenting facts,
straightforward statements:
Carlo mangiava.
Charles was eating.
2 The imperative (imperativo), the mood/mode for giving orders:
Sta’ zitto!
Be quiet!
* In a recent reform of the education system, the name of the examination was
changed to esame di stato, but it is still often referred to by the old name maturità.
Unit 15: Good luck!
225
3 The conditional (condizionale), the mood/mode for actions that
depend on a condition being fulﬁlled:
Se venisse, gli parlerei.
If he came, I would speak to him.
4 The subjunctive (congiuntivo), the mood/mode for expressing an
element of subjectivity with regard to the action (for example,
doubt about it, desire that it should take place etc.). In the case
we have been dealing with the speaker is expressing lack of
probability.
Se fosse casalinga, le cose sarebbero diverse.
If she were a housewife, things would be different.
(b) Modi non ﬁniti: these do not have different forms according
to the person.
1 The inﬁnitive (inﬁnito), this can be present or past:
Present:
essere o non essere
to be or not to be
Past (for verbs using avere for the passato prossimo):
avere amato e avere perduto
to have loved and lost
Past (for verbs using essere for the passato prossimo):
essere andato
to have gone
2 The participle (participio), the ending can be changed as if it
were an adjective:
ﬁnito/a/i/e
ﬁnished
3 The gerund:
andando a Roma
going to Rome
The form of the imperfect subjunctive
The subjunctive has four tenses: present, imperfect, perfect and
pluperfect. The form of the imperfect subjunctive is not difﬁcult,
and you can use it without knowing the above summary of modes,
226
Unit 15: Buona fortuna!
but for some learners it helps to get the full picture clear. Take
the same root as for the imperfect indicative (see Unit 13). Any
verb that has a special root for the imperfect (e.g. fare) will have
the same special root in the imperfect subjunctive, with three
exceptions (see below). The endings are as follows.
parlare
decidere
partire
fare
parlassi
parlassi
parlasse
parlassimo
parlaste
parlassero
decidessi
decidessi
decidesse
decidessimo
decideste
decidessero
partissi
partissi
partisse
partissimo
partiste
partissero
facessi
facessi
facesse
facessimo
faceste
facessero
The stress in the ﬁrst and third person plural, falls on the antepenultimate syllable.
The three irregular verbs are:
essere
dare
stare
fossi
fossi
fosse
fossimo
foste
fossero
dessi
dessi
desse
dessimo
deste
dessero
stessi
stessi
stesse
stessimo
steste
stessero
The stress occurs as with the regular verbs.
In Dialogue 2 you met the most common use of the imperfect
subjunctive. There are those who say the subjunctive is dying in
Italian but this usage is very much alive.
Exercise 5
How would you say in Italian:
1
2
3
4
5
6
If
If
If
If
If
If
we went to Rome we would see Marco.
he wrote to me I would answer.
we had the money, we would help him.
you won the lottery, Anna, what would you do? (tu)
you won the lottery, Prof. Turco, what would you do?
they knew, they would be pleased.
Unit 15: Good luck!
The pluperfect subjunctive and the
past conditional
These are used to say what you would have done if . . . Look at
these sentences:
Se avessi saputo, non avrei parlato così.
If I had known, I would not have spoken in that way.
Se fossimo partiti un quarto d’ora prima, saremmo arrivati
in tempo.
If we had set off a quarter of an hour before, we would
have arrived in time.
The events have taken place, they are past, but if only the clock
could be put back . . . In order to express that idea, both tenses
have been put into the past, using avere plus a past participle in
the case of verbs that form their passato prossimo with avere, and
essere for those that make it with essere. The names given to these
tenses are:
Pluperfect subjunctive:
avessi saputo, fossimo partiti
Past conditional:
avrei parlato, saremmo arrivati
Note: In colloquial speech this idea can be expressed by two imperfect tenses:
Se mi diceva che era stanco, lo aiutavo.
If he had told me he was tired, I would have helped him.
Se non andavo alla festa di Giulia, non incontravo Tommaso.
If I hadn’t gone to Giulia’s party, I wouldn’t have met
Tommaso.
This way of avoiding the subjunctive is one that some Italians
prefer to take – and you might too.
Exercise 6
Did you ever play the game of consequences? Here are some
actions and their consequences. If one thing hadn’t happened
neither would the other. Or if someone had done something, something else would not have occurred. Can you say this?
227
228
Unit 15: Buona fortuna!
Example: Sono arrivata in ritardo. Mio marito si è arrabbiato.
Answer: Se non fossi arrivata in ritardo, mio marito non si
sarebbe arrabbiato.
If I hadn’t arrived late, my husband would not have
got angry.
1
2
3
4
5
Non mi ha detto che era stanco. Non l’ho aiutato.
Ha bevuto tanto. Si è sentito male.
E’ andato veloce. Ha avuto un incidente.
Sono andata alla festa da Giulia. Ho incontrato Tommaso.
Ho comprato un biglietto della lotteria. Ho vinto un
premio.
Ways of saying ‘perhaps’
While talking of the unlikely and what one would do if circumstances allowed, you often need to say ‘perhaps, maybe’. Italian
has more than one word for this.
Using forse
forse is problem-free. It expresses doubt, uncertainty, hesitation or
possibility, including the idea of hope:
Forse viene domani.
He/she may be coming tomorrow, perhaps he/she’ll come
tomorrow.
E’ stato forse un errore.
Maybe it was a mistake.
Using può darsi
può is of course the third person singular of the verb potere ‘to
be able’. You can also say può essere. Used by itself può darsi is
very common and does not present any problems; but to introduce
a clause it becomes può darsi che and needs to be followed by a
subjunctive:
Può darsi che possa avere un anno o due di aspettativa.
Maybe she’ll be able to have a year or two’s leave.
This form and use of the subjunctive will be dealt with in Unit 17.
Unit 15: Good luck!
229
Using magari
magari has two meanings. The tone of voice tells you which.
(a) ‘Perhaps’ (like forse):
Magari viene domani.
He may be coming tomorrow.
Magari è stato un errore.
Perhaps it was a mistake.
(b) ‘Would that it were so’, expressing strong desire or hope:
– Hai vinto?
– Did you win?
–
–
–
–
– Magari!
– I wish I had!
Patrizia deve’essere contenta . . .
Magari!
Patrizia must be pleased . . .
I wish she were!
In this use it can be used with the imperfect subjunctive:
Magari fosse vero!
Would to God it were true!
Expressing doubt: chissà?
This literally means ‘who knows?’ and can also be written chi sa?.
It is also used to express doubt, uncertainty or vague hopefulness:
Ci rivediamo, ma chissà quando.
See you again, but goodness knows when.
Reading
Per le vie dei borghi d.o.c.
I paesini più belli d’Italia
1 What are the two requisites to qualify for membership of the
club?
2 The author is suggesting by implication that the readers will
want to . . . do what?
230
Unit 15: Buona fortuna!
C’è
un nuovo club, molto esclusivo,
i cui soci meritano di essere
conosciuti. E’ il “Club dei Borghi più belli
d’Italia”. L’idea di un marchio di qualità
da applicare ai paesi è venuto all’Anci,
l’Associazione Nazionale dei Comuni
Italiani (il sito: www.anci.it). Il borgo doc
deve avere un centro storico con massimo
2 mila abitanti (15 mila nell’intero comune)
e, sopratttutto, una notevole qualità
urbanistica e architettonica, certiﬁcata dalla
Sovrintendenza alle Belle Arti. Paesini dalle
magiche atmosfere, quindi, in cui siano
bandite brutture come le antenne
paraboliche, le insegne al neon, gli inﬁssi di
alluminio e persino l’asfalto delle strade,
sostituito dall’acciottolato originario. Ecco
allora i nomi e la storia di alcuni “soci”
poco conosciuti, per visitarli in un weekend
da ﬁaba.
(Adapted from an article in Vera magazine,
March 2003, by kind permission of the publishers)
Vocabulary notes
d.o.c. denomoninazione di origine controllata Here borrowed from a
quality mark applied to wines.
urbanistica As a noun, urbanistica is the art of planning towns etc.
so that they are rational and aesthetically pleasing: town planning.
These towns are old of course.
architettonico Relating to architecture.
Sovrintendenza alle Belle Arti The body charged with the conservation
of monuments, archeological sites etc.
bandite (f. pl) ‘banished, prohibited’
antenne paraboliche ‘satellite dishes’
inﬁssi ‘window frames’
soci (sing. socio) ‘members’
Unit 15: Good luck!
Cultural point
The article mentions the National Association of Italian Comuni.
At all levels of administration there are groupings that work
together for their mutual interests, pooling resources and ideas. You
may like to visit the ANCI website: www.anci.it. For the borghi
d.o.c. you will ﬁnd it easier to go straight to www.borghitalia.it,
which gives you links to each individual member. Regions group
in the Conferenza dei Presidenti delle Regioni e delle Province
Autonome (www.regioni.it). This site has links to each region.
Similarly www.comuni.it. There are a lot of comuni.
231
16 Progetti e
previsioni –
che sarà, sarà
Plans and predictions – what
will be, will be
In this unit you will learn how to:
• Talk about what you intend to do: the future
• Understand business letters
• Say you can or can’t manage something: ce la faccio/non ce
la faccio
• Use andarsene ‘to leave’, cavarsela ‘to get by’
• Say you said you would do something
• Make the past participle agree when necessary
• Use the present for talking about the future
• Another use of the future: say something is likely, probable
• Access the internet for Italian websites
Dialogue 1
Benissimo. Possiamo ﬁrmare
Angela Smith had come to Italy to talk about a new project, you
may remember. Her company has bought robots for welding from
Mr Rossi’s company in the past and now plans to update its equipment over the next two years. Here she is with Mr Rossi. Everything
has been discussed, the robots have been demonstrated and Angela
is satisﬁed they will meet her ﬁrm’s needs. She and Mr Rossi are
conﬁrming the agreement verbally before signing the contract for
the ﬁrst consignment.
Unit 16: Plans and predictions – what will be, will be
1 How many robots is Angela ordering at this stage?
2 What discount has Mr Rossi’s company offered?
3 What percentage of the total price will be withheld until one
month from the date of installation?
4 Who will see to the installation?
5 What does Mr Rossi promise to do during his next visit to
England?
ANGELA:
ROSSI:
ANGELA:
ROSSI:
ANGELA:
ROSSI:
ANGELA:
ROSSI:
Allora, siamo d’accordo. Prendiamo il modello
Merlino X390B speciﬁco per la saldatura.
Ne avete bisogno di quattro, vero?
Per ora, sì. Ci fate uno sconto del 15%?
Sì, è inteso. Il pagamento si farà come concordato,
cioè: il 30% alla ﬁrma dell’ordine, il 60% alla consegna
e il restante 10% a 30 giorni. La consegna si farà come
promesso, cioè fra due mesi. Al momento della
consegna verrà un nostro tecnico che provvederà
all’installazione dei robot.
Benissimo. Possiamo ﬁrmare il contratto, così Le verso
anche l’assegno.
La ringrazio. Sono sicuro che si troverà bene come
sempre anche con questo nuovo modello.
Sicuramente. Spero che venga a vedere dove verranno
installati. Così si renderà conto di come stiamo
crescendo.
Grazie, mi farebbe piacere. Verrò senz’altro durante
il mio prossimo viaggio in Inghilterra.
Vocabulary
ﬁrmare, una ﬁrma
la saldatura
la consegna
Le verso l’assegno
to sign, a signature
welding
delivery, handing over
I will pay you the cheque (versare is used in
banking to mean ‘pay in, remit’)
spero che venga
I hope you will come (present subjunctive,
see Unit 17)
si renderà conto di come you will realize how we are growing
stiamo crescendo
senz’altro
without fail, of course
233
234
Unit 16: Progetti e previsioni – che sarà, sarà
Language points
Talking about what you intend to do:
the future
Il pagamento si farà come concordato.
Payment will be made as agreed.
verrà un nostro tecnico che provvederà all’installazione
one of our technicians will come and he will take care of
the installation
Sono sicuro che si troverà bene come sempre . . .
I am sure you will be pleased as always . . .
si renderà conto . . .
you will realize, understand . . .
Verrò senz’altro durante il mio prossimo viaggio.
I’ll come without fail during my next trip.
dove verranno installati
where they will be installed
venire is used in this last example to form the passive – see Unit 9.
The future tense is formed on the same base as the conditional:
the inﬁnitive minus the ﬁnal -e. Here are the future forms of each
type of regular verb and of three irregular verbs. essere is unique;
avere and venire represent the two types of irregular verbs we
showed you when dealing with the conditional.
comprare
prendere
partire
essere
avere
venire
comprerò
comprerai
comprerà
compreremo
comprerete
compreranno
prenderò
prenderai
prenderà
prenderemo
prenderete
prenderanno
partirò
partirai
partirà
partiremo
partirete
partiranno
sarò
sarai
sarà
saremo
sarete
saranno
avrò
avrai
avrà
avremo
avrete
avranno
verrò
verrai
verrà
verremo
verrete
verranno
Notes
1 As with the conditional, the vowel in the -are inﬁnitive ending
becomes e.
Unit 16: Plans and predictions – what will be, will be
2 There is a one-letter difference in spelling between the ﬁrst
person plural of the future and the same part of the conditional.
It reﬂects a difference of pronunciation:
Future
Conditional
saremo
we shall/will be
prenderemo we shall/will take
verremo
saremmo
we should/would be
prenderemmo we should/would
take
we shall/will come verremmo
we should/would
come
It is vital to distinguish the single m of the future from the double
m of the conditional. Pronouncing one m or two changes the
meaning.
Exercise 1
Translate these sentences into Italian. They concern the visit of Mr
Rossi’s technician to install Angela Smith’s robots.
1 Our technician will arrive at East Midlands airport at 16.00 on
17 July.
2 He will start the installation on the 18th.
3 He will ﬁnish by (entro) the end of the month.
4 He will need a room in a hotel.
5 Will it be possible to meet him at the airport? (meet: use
prendere)
6 Will you be able to give him a car for the period?
7 He will explain the robots to your technicians during the
installation.
Exercise 2
You are tired. Someone is asking you whether you have done
certain things or whether you are going to do them now. Promise
to do each tomorrow.
Example: Sei andato a fare la spesa?
Answer: Andrò domani a fare la spesa.
1 Hai spedito le cartoline?
No, le _____ domani.
235
236
Unit 16: Progetti e previsioni – che sarà, sarà
2 Vuoi ﬁnire questo lavoro oggi?
No, lo _____ domani.
3 Telefoni a Mario oggi?
No, gli _____ domani.
4 Vuoi ritirare oggi i biglietti per il nostro viaggio?
No, li _____ domani.
5 Mi puoi aiutare adesso a fare la traduzione?
No, ti _____ domani.
Business letters
Business letters are more difﬁcult than those between friends. It is
usual to address a ﬁrm or organization as Spettabile, usually abbreviated to Spett.le, and to put the address the letter is going to at
the top. Alla cortese attenzione di indicates whose attention the
letter is for. The subject of the letter is set out in the heading,
preceded by the word oggetto. Often a stylized business Italian is
still used. Here are two examples of the type of letter Mr Rossi’s
company (Robotica Milanese) writes and receives:
Spett.le Ace Motori. S.r.l.
Via Gramsci 121,
Collegno (TO)
Alla cortese attenzione dell’Ing. Mancuso
Cinisello Balsamo, 20/03/2004
Oggetto: NS. OFFERTA N. 2430/04
Con la presente, siamo lieti di sottoporVi la ns. migliore offerta
per l’impianto di Vs. interesse.
Rimanendo a disposizione per qualunque chiarimento tecnico
commerciale, porgiamo distinti saluti.
M. Rossi
Area Manager
Robotica Milanese S.p.A.
Unit 16: Plans and predictions – what will be, will be
1 Whose attention is this letter for?
2 Can you guess what ‘ns.’ and ‘Vs.’ mean?
3 What is the letter about?
Note the addressee’s name is put at the top right. And the place
of writing is often stated with the date of the letter.
An incoming letter is shown below:
Spett.le Robotica Milanese,
Via Leonardo da Vinci 10,
Cinisello Balsamo (MI)
Bologna, 10/6/2004
Alla C. A. Ing. Tondelli
NS. Rif: 140/04/C
OGGETTO: RICHIESTA DI INTERVENTO
Come già comunicato telefonicamente in data odierna, con la
presente richiediamo con urgenza il Vs. intervento tecnico su
impianto robotizzato ARTU’ da Voi vendutoci.
RingaziandoVi per la collaborazione, con l’occasione porgiamo
distinti saluti.
N. Bortolotti
Meccanica Panigale S.p.A.
1 What is the letter asking for?
2 Robotica Milanese will not be surprised to get this request.
Why?
Vocabulary
in data odierna
of today’s date
237
238
Unit 16: Progetti e previsioni – che sarà, sarà
Common abbreviations are
ns.
Vs.
C.A.
u.s.
p.v.
c.m.
gg.
S.r.l.
IVA
nostro
Vostro
cortese attenzione
ultimo scorso
prossimo venturo
corrente mese
giorni
società a responsabilità limitata
imposta sul valore aggiunto
last month
next month
this month
days
limited company
VAT – value added tax
Openings
To a ﬁrm:
To a man:
To a woman:
Spett.le ditta/società
Egregio dott. Manzini
Gentile dott.ssa Vasino
Common closing salutations
Porgiamo distinti saluti.
Cogliamo l’occasione per porgerVi i nostri più distinti saluti.
RingraziandoVi anticipatamente, con l’occasione porgiamo distinti saluti.
Note the practice of capitalizing Voi, Vi and Vostro. It is regarded
as a courtesy to the company, as with Lei to individuals.
Reading
These days, much business is done using emails, which are less
formal than letters. Their very nature seems to mean writers do not
bother to correct spelling, nor observe the conventions of letterwriting. Here, however, is an email couched in formal, elegant
Italian. Zanichelli Editore is a publishing house specializing in
dictionaries etc. This circular email from them offers to send recipients information about their new publications.
Can you guess the meaning of the following:
1 invio automatico
2 opere di consultazione
3 L’iscrizione è assolutamente gratuita e non comporta alcun
obbligo di acquisto
4 senza immagini o allegati
5 casella di posta elettronica
6 senza alcun costo o onere
Unit 16: Plans and predictions – what will be, will be
From:
[email protected]
To:
[email protected]
Sent:
27 July 2004 20:00
Subject:
O Invito all’iscrizione al Notiziario
Dizionari e opere di consultazione Zanichelli
Gentile Lettore,
Le scriviamo per informarLa che Zanichelli editore ha
attivato un servizio di invio automatico di e-mail
allo scopo di segnalare tempestivamente le novità
editoriali riguardanti il settore Dizionari e opere di
consultazione.
Con la presente, Le proponiamo di iscriversi a questo
servizio. L’iscrizione è assolutamente gratuita e non
comporta alcun obbligo di acquisto.
Le e-mail che Le invieremo saranno di dimensione
ridotte, senza immagini o allegati e tali comunque da
non creare problemi di alcun genere alla Sua casella
di posta elettronica.
In qualsiasi momento Lei potrà decidere la
cancellazione del Suo nominativo dalla mailing list
senza alcun costo o onere.
Per iscriversi è sufﬁciente rispondere a questo
messaggio, indicando esplicitamente la propria volontà
di aderire.
Con i nostri migliori saluti.
Bernardo Cioni
Servizio Sviluppo
Zanichelli editore S.p.A.
_______________________________
Zanichelli editore S.p.A.
Sede: Via Irnerio 34, 40126 Bologna
Capitale euro 25.000.000 - Partita Iva 03978000374
Codice Fiscale e n. iscr. nel Registro delle Imprese
08536570156
R.E.A. n. 329604
http://www.zanichelli.it/dizionari
239
240
Unit 16: Progetti e previsioni – che sarà, sarà
Vocabulary
O = Oggetto
in qualsiasi momento
la propria volontà
as in business letters, in spite of being preceded
by ‘Subject’
at any time
your (own) wish
Cultural point
You will notice that the email format uses English. Notice also
mailing list. Zanichelli produces dictionaries, so note their precision in the use of the word e-mail, although, as has been said, many
Italians use mail. The Italian term is in the passage but is not often
used. The company address is given in the same format that would
appear on headed paper. Sede means ‘Head ofﬁce’. Partita IVA
is the VAT registration number and Codice Fiscale is the tax reference number. Individuals also have a Codice Fiscale.
Dialogue 2
Un invito
Angela’s visit to her cousin proved to be the start of a friendship.
Gabriella had promised to take Angela to spend a day at the farmhouse she and her husband are restoring in the country. On one of
Angela’s trips to Italy, Gabriella telephones her at her hotel in Turin.
1 How is Angela going to get to the farmhouse?
2 When must she be ready?
GABRIELLA:
ANGELA:
GABRIELLA:
ANGELA:
Pronto. Angela? Ciao. Sono Gabriella. Come va?
Gabriella, ciao! Che piacere! Io sto benissimo
grazie. E tu?
Anch’io, bene, grazie. Senti, questo ﬁne settimana
andiamo in campagna. Ti ricordi che abbiamo una
vecchia cascina? Avevamo detto che ti avremmo
portata a passare una giornata lì. Vuoi venire con
noi questa volta?
Sì, mi farebbe molto piacere. A che ora partite?
Unit 16: Plans and predictions – what will be, will be
GABRIELLA:
ANGELA:
GABRIELLA:
Ci piacerebbe partire presto. Se passiamo a prenderti all’albergo sabato alle otto, ce la fai?
Certo che ce la faccio. Sarò pronta alle otto.
Allora, arrivederci a sabato.
Vocabulary
avevamo detto
we had said (some time in the past)
Using ce la fai?
ce la fai? (from farcela ‘to manage’) is a widely used idiomatic
expression. The two object pronouns, ce la, do not refer to anything
speciﬁc and do not change.
ce la faccio
ce la fai
ce la fa
I am managing ce la facciamo
ce la fate
ce la fanno
Ce la fai?
Non ce la faccio.
Ce l’ho fatta.
Can you manage (it)?
I can’t manage (it).
I did it/I’ve done it.
Two other common expressions use combined pronouns. In these
the ﬁrst pronoun is a reﬂexive pronoun and changes with the
subject of the sentence.
andarsene ‘to go (away), to leave’
me ne vado
te ne vai
se ne va
I’m going (away) ce ne andiamo
ve ne andate
se ne vanno
cavarsela ‘to get by’
me la cavo
te la cavi
se la cava
I get by
ce la caviamo
ve la cavate
se la cavano
Saying you said you would . . .
Avevamo detto che ti avremmo portata . . .
avevamo detto is the imperfect of the auxiliary plus the past
participle, corresponding to the English ‘we had said’. It puts the
241
242
Unit 16: Progetti e previsioni – che sarà, sarà
saying further back in the past than abbiamo detto ‘we said’. No
problems here. But in Italian, when reporting words that were originally in the future (ti porteremo ‘we will take you’), you use the
past conditional, not the conditional. The past conditional is made
using the conditional of avere or essere, according to the verb, plus
the past participle. In the following examples the actual words are
shown ﬁrst and then a reported version:
Arriverò prima delle otto.
Ha detto che sarebbe arrivato prima delle otto.
He said he would arrive before eight.
Ti aiuterò di sicuro.
Mi ha risposto che mi avrebbe aiutato di sicuro.
He answered that he would certainly help me.
Andremo al mare domenica.
Hanno detto che sarebbero andati al mare domenica.
They said they would go to the seaside on Sunday.
Making the past participle agree
Ti avremmo portata . . .
When used with avere, it is usual to make the past participle agree
with a direct object pronoun preceding it. The agreement is also
made with ne:
La mela? L’ho mangiata.
The apple? I’ve eaten it.
– Dove sono i bambini?
– Where are the children?
– Non lo so, non li ho visti.
– I don’t know, I haven’t seen
them.
Exercise 3
Complete the past participle in the following sentences:
1
2
3
4
E’ arrivata tua mamma? Non l’ho vist _____
Hai visto i miei occhiali? Li ho smarrit _____
E’ buona questa torta. Ne hai mangiat _____
Hai assaggiat _____ anche il gelato?
smarrire
assaggiare
to mislay (oggetti smarriti ‘lost property’)
to taste, try (food, drink)
Unit 16: Plans and predictions – what will be, will be
Don’t forget that when the verb is conjugated with essere the
participle agrees with the subject.
Anna è andata a comprare il pane.
Anna has gone to buy bread.
More about the future
When talking about the future the present tense is often used, as
indeed it is in English:
Andiamo in campagna questo ﬁne settimana.
We are going to the country this weekend.
Andate al cinema stasera?
Are you going to the cinema this evening?
Lo faccio subito.
I’ll do it immediately.
It is not wrong to use the future in these cases. The future tends
to emphasize intention or advance planning, so Angela says:
Sarò pronta.
I’ll be ready.
Quest’estate andremo in California.
This summer we are going (i.e. we have plans to go) to
California.
The future can be used when contrasting a near future with a more
distant future:
Questa sera non usciamo; venerdi però andremo a teatro.
We aren’t going out tonight; on Friday however we are going
to the theatre.
The following expressions are often associated with the future:
entro giovedì
entro domani
fra due ore
fra due giorni
fra poco
la settimana prossima
l’anno prossimo
by Thursday
by tomorrow
in two hours’ time
in two days’ time
in a little while
next week
next year
243
244
Unit 16: Progetti e previsioni – che sarà, sarà
lunedì prossimo
domani
dopodomani
next Monday
tomorrow
the day after tomorrow
A common use of the future is to suggest something is possible,
implying it is likely but you can’t conﬁrm it as fact:
– Dov’è Giorgio?
– Where’s Giorgio?
– Sarà in ufﬁcio.
– He’ll be in his ofﬁce/he’s likely to be in his ofﬁce.
Anna è partita questa mattina. Sarà già a Roma.
Anna left this morning. She’s probably already in Rome.
Following from this, you will notice the past conditional used in
journalism, particularly when the journalist is reporting what is
thought to have happened rather than a fact:
Il conducente della macchina si sarebbe addormentato al
volante.
The driver of the car appears to have fallen asleep at the
wheel.
Il ministro avrebbe promesso una nuova riunione con il
sindacato per domani.
It seems the Minister promised a new meeting with the union
tomorrow.
Cultural point
The internet
You will probably want to look for Italian internet sites. Useful
search machines are:
• www.google.it
• www.altavista.it
The Italian Embassy in London has a very useful website
(www.embitaly.org.uk), which includes a list of Italian search
engines and portals (doubtless the work of a particular enthusiast):
go to the site index. There are also links to many different websites
Unit 16: Plans and predictions – what will be, will be
holding a variety of information about Italy. When surﬁng (navigare in internet), you will ﬁnd English terms widely used or adapted
(e.g. un programma antivirus, un sito, chat (meaning ‘chat room’
as well as the system of exchanging chat), newsgroup). Ofﬁcial
government sites and, even more so, local authority sites are worth
visiting. Try, for instance, www.comune.torino.it or www.comune.
roma.it.
245
17 Un vestito per
un matrimonio
A dress for a wedding
In this unit you will learn about:
• Clothes
• Saying what you think, what you want, what you need etc.:
the present subjunctive
• Small towns, off the beaten track, for you to seek out when
you are in Italy
Dialogue 1
Desidero che mi dia un consiglio
Angela has been invited to a wedding and she thinks it would be
fun to buy an outﬁt in Italy to wear to it. However, she doesn’t know
the shops well and so she telephones signora Rossi to ask her advice.
She starts by asking how signora Rossi is.
1 Who is getting married?
2 What type of outﬁt does Angela say she wants?
ANGELA:
SIG.RA R:
ANGELA:
Mi scusi se La disturbo. La chiamo perché desidero
che mi dia un consiglio.
Ma molto volentieri se posso.
Ecco: la ﬁglia della mia cugina di Torino si sposa a
settembre. Mi piacerebbe comprare un abito per la
cerimonia in Italia ma non so dove si possa trovare
un vestito adatto che non sia troppo impegnativo.
Infatti, bisogna che sia elegante ma se possibile che
si adatti anche ad importanti occasioni di lavoro.
Dunque voglio che sia semplice e anche che abbia un
buon taglio e un bel tessuto.
Unit 17: A dress for a wedding
SIG.RA R:
Non c’è nessun problema, anzi mi farebbe molto
piacere accompagnarLa in qualche negozio. Penso che
sia possibile trovare qualcosa che Le piaccia. E’ libera
domani?
Vocabulary notes
ecco ‘well’ (in this context). Here, Angela is indicating she is about to
give an explanation, a common use of ecco.
vestito ‘clothes, a dress, an outﬁt’. The word can be applied to clothes
for men or women.
abito ‘a dress’ (for a woman), ‘a suit’ (for a man). Add da uomo or da
donna when necessary.
impegnativo ‘exacting, binding’. Angela doesn’t want to buy something
that will be suitable only for the wedding. There is also the idea that
it should not cost too much. un impegno is ‘a pledge’; but also ‘an
engagement’. sono impegnato/a means ‘I have an engagement’.
tessuto ‘fabric, material’ (also stoffa)
Language points
Saying what you think, what you
want, what you need: the present
subjunctive
We explained in Unit 15 that the subjunctive is used when there
is an element of subjectivity in the way the action is being
presented. In Dialogue 1 above a number of present subjunctives
occur. Be warned: they do not always translate neatly into a similar
English structure.
Desidero che mi dia un consiglio.
I want you to give me some advice.
Bisogna che sia semplice ma che si adatti anche ad importanti
occasioni di lavoro.
It needs to be elegant but it must adapt to important working
occasions as well.
Voglio che sia semplice e che abbia un buon taglio . . .
I want it to be simple and to have a good cut . . .
(to be well cut) . . .
247
248
Unit 17: Un vestito per un matrimonio
Penso che sia possibile trovare qualcosa che Le piaccia.
I think it is possible to ﬁnd something you will like.
Form
The form is not difﬁcult. There are two types: (1) verbs in -are;
and (2) the rest. In the singular, there is one form for all persons.
For this reason the subject pronouns are often used with the
subjunctive. The -ire group subdivides: verbs that have -isc- in the
present indicative also have it in the present subjunctive. You will
also notice one form that is the same as that of the present indicative for all verbs. Which is it? Also, as you look, think whether
one of the parts reminds you of another mood you have met.
(io)
(tu)
(lui/lei)
(noi)
(voi)
(loro)
parli
parli
parli
parliamo
parliate
parlino
venda
venda
venda
vendiamo
vendiate
vendano
capisca
capisca
capisca
capiamo
capiate
capiscano
parta
parta
parta
partiamo
partiate
partano
The stress in the third person plural is always, as in many other
moods and tenses, on the antepenultimate syllable: parlino,
capiscano etc.
Yes, the ﬁrst person plural, the noi form, is the same as for the
present indicative. And the singular form is the same as that of
the formal imperative (-are verbs: scusi; other verbs: senta, dica).
Verbs that are irregular in the formal imperative are also irregular
in the subjunctive. Common irregular subjunctives are:
essere
avere
andare
fare
dare
dire
venire
sia
sia
sia
siamo
siate
siano
abbia
abbia
abbia
abbiamo
abbiate
abbiano
vada
vada
vada
andiamo
andiate
vadano
faccia
faccia
faccia
facciamo
facciate
facciano
dia
dia
dia
diamo
diate
diano
dica
dica
dica
diciamo
diciate
dicano
venga
venga
venga
veniamo
veniate
vengano
Unit 17: A dress for a wedding
The perfect subjunctive is formed with avere or essere and the past
participle:
Credo che abbia ﬁnito di piovere.
I think it has stopped raining.
Uses
When is the present subjunctive used? This is more difﬁcult to
grasp than the form and a comprehensive treatment is beyond the
scope of this introductory book. The subjunctive is used mostly in
subordinate clauses, and is usually preceded by che. The most
frequent uses are the following:
(1) After verbs expressing an opinion, or perhaps casting doubt:
penso che . . ., credo che . . .; the negative in particular casts doubt:
non penso che . . ., non so se . . . :
Penso che sia possibile . . .
I think it is possible . . .
Credo che abbia ﬁnito . . .
I think he/she has ﬁnished . . .
(I think so, but I am not sure)
Non so se sia possible . . .
I don’t know whether it is possible . . .
Spero che venga . . .
I hope you’ll come . . .
In the last case (from Unit 16, Dialogue 1) the use of the subjunctive implies doubt. sperare can also be used followed by the
indicative, indicating the speaker thinks the event will take place.
Remember secondo me. It is a way of saying what you think
without needing a subjunctive, or indeed a verb (see Unit 5,
Dialogue 1).
(2) After verbs expressing desire, will, regret, fear and some other
emotions: the most common is desire ‘wanting’:
Desidero che mi dia un consiglio.
I want you to give me some advice.
Voglio che sia semplice.
I want it to be simple.
249
250
Unit 17: Un vestito per un matrimonio
Note: If the same person is the subject of both verbs you can use
the inﬁnitive:
Desidero darLe un consiglio.
I want to give you some advice.
(I want and I am giving the advice.)
(3) After a number of impersonal verbs: occorre che, bisogna che,
è necessario che, è possibile che, può darsi che, sembra che, pare
che, basta che, è meglio che etc.:
Bisogna che sia elegante ma . . . che si adatti anche ad
importanti occasioni di lavoro.
It must be elegant but it must be suitable for important
professional occasions too.
Può darsi che possa avere un anno o due di aspettativa.
(see Unit 15, Dialogue 2)
Maybe she’ll be able to have a year or two’s leave.
(4) After a relative pronoun when the clause is referring to a type
rather than the particular:
. . . qualcosa che Le piaccia
. . . something that you like
Ci vuole un governo che sappia modernizzare il paese.
What is needed is a government that knows how to modernize
the country.
Note: If you are describing a particular government, not a type of
government, you would say:
Abbiamo un governo che sa quello che fa.
We have a government that knows what it is doing.
(5) The subjunctive is also used after a number of conjunctions
including benché ‘although’, poiché ‘since, as’ (causal), perché ‘so
that’ (not when meaning ‘because’), prima che ‘before’:
Benché abbia ormai sessant’anni, è sempre molto giovane di
spirito.
Although he (she) is now sixty, he (she) is very young in spirit.
Facciamolo prima che cambi idea.
Let’s do it before he (she) changes his (her) mind.
Unit 17: A dress for a wedding
All this is probably more than you can absorb in one reading. It
also needs to be said that the present subjunctive belongs to fairly
formal, careful speech and there is a tendency in spoken Italian to
avoid it. The choice depends on the person speaking and how
careful he wants his way of speaking to be. Many educated people,
however, look down on someone who does not use the subjunctive: a few years ago, for example, a minister of education was the
subject of some mockery because of his failure to use it.
As you can see, the forms are very similar to the indicative so,
as a foreign speaker of Italian, you should not worry unduly. It is
not necessary to master all the intricate details in the relatively
early stages of language learning. The use of the subjunctive
learned in Unit 15 will probably prove more useful to you. At this
stage, you should be noting subjunctives as you meet them so that,
with practice, you will gradually understand them and be better
able to get them right. Nevertheless, here is some practice for you.
Exercise 1
In the following exchanges the second speaker is uncertain about
the facts. Can you supply the correct form of the verb to convey
this uncertainty.
Example: – Devo andare in banca.
– Non credo che (essere) _____ aperta
a quest’ora.
Sono già le diciassette. (sia)
1 – Aldo dice che Giorgio viene alla festa domani. E’ vero?
– Non penso che (venire) _____. Non sta molto bene.
2 – E’ partita Anna?
– Non credo che (essere partita) _____. Mi ha telefonato
questa mattina.
3 – Invece di andare a New York, perché non andiamo a
Sydney?
– Non credo che si (potere) _____ cambiare la destinazione
adesso. Il viaggio è tutto prenotato.
4 – Giorgio arriva stasera, vero?
– Non penso che (arrivare) _____ stasera. Arriverà forse
domani.
251
252
Unit 17: Un vestito per un matrimonio
5 – Luisa ha comprato una nuova macchina?
– Non penso che ne (avere comprata) _____ una. Però la sta
cercando.
6 – Aldo è andato in Francia questo ﬁne settimana?
– Non credo che (essere andato) _____. Voleva andare ma ha
avuto dei problemi.
Exercise 2
Your holiday villa has a maid – what bliss! Tell her what you want
her to do this morning.
Voglio che _____.
1
2
3
4
5
fare i letti
pulire la cucina
lavare questi vestiti
stirare la biancheria lavata ieri
preparare il pranzo per l’una
Exercise 3
You are shopping for various things. How would you say:
‘I’d like . . .’?
1 a blouse that is easy to iron
2 a sweater that can be washed in the machine
3 a handbag in which there is space for a book
Exercise 4
You’re talking politics with a friend. Explain what you think are
the qualities needed in a prime minister: in Italy, Presidente del
Consiglio (dei Ministri).
Bisogna che (1 capire) _____ i problemi della gente comune.
Nello stesso tempo è necessario che (2 avere) _____ una
visione larga del suo lavoro. Ci vuole una persona che
(3 sapere) _____ resistere alle pressioni. Naturalmente
occorre che (4 essere) _____ molto paziente. Sarà possibile
trovare una persona adatta?
Unit 17: A dress for a wedding
Dialogue 2
Alla boutique
Signora Rossi and Angela go to a shop where signora Rossi has
often bought clothes for important occasions. She introduces Angela
to the owner and explains what Angela is looking for.
1 Why does the owner of the shop ask when the wedding is?
2 Angela likes the ﬁrst outﬁt she tries on but there is a small
problem.
3 Why is Angela pleased with her shopping expedition?
NEGOZIANTE:
ANGELA:
NEGOZIANTE:
ANGELA:
NEGOZIANTE:
ANGELA:
Buongiorno signora Smith. Sono sicuro che c’è
quello che cerca. In che mese è il matrimonio?
Ai primi di settembre.
Allora andrebbe bene un vestito di seta. A
settembre non farà freddo. Venga a vedere qui.
Che misura ha?
44, penso.
Ci sono tailleur come questi. C’è anche la
camicetta ma naturalmente in un’altra occasione
la può sostituire. Oppure potrebbe prendere un
vestito con giacca, come questi.
Posso provare questo?
Shortly Angela appears from the changing room wearing the outﬁt.
SIG.RA R:
ANGELA:
NEGOZIANTE:
ANGELA:
Che bello! Veramente Le sta molto bene questo
colore.
Mi piace molto. E’ proprio quello che volevo. Ma
non è un po’ larga la gonna?
Sì, ha ragione ma gliela possiamo stringere leggermente. Ma non vuole provare un altro vestito?
Guardi questo abito a ﬁori, lo provi. Può darsi che
Le piaccia di più.
No, veramente mi piace molto questo. Se mi
potete stringere la gonna senza che si noti, lo
prendo.
The purchase concluded, Angela and signora Rossi go for a coffee
in a nearby bar.
253
254
Unit 17: Un vestito per un matrimonio
SIG.RA R:
ANGELA:
SIG.RA R:
Il vestito che ha comprato è proprio bello ma come
mai non ha voluto provarne ancora uno o due?
Mi è subito piaciuto quello e così abbiamo
risparmiato tempo. Mi ero presa tutta la mattinata
libera. Che ne dice, signora Rossi? Andiamo a
visitare un museo?
Che bella idea! Ma diamoci del tu. E’ più facile.
Vocabulary notes
boutique ‘shop’. French word, used to indicate a smart dress shop.
sono sicuro che . . . ‘I am sure that . . .’. Since the shop owner is sure,
there is no subjunctive here.
ai primi di settembre ‘in the ﬁrst (few) days of September’
andrebbe bene un vestito di seta ‘a silk dress would be very suitable’
tailleur ‘suit’. French word: jacket and skirt or coat and dress, for
women only.
le sta bene ‘it suits you’. stare bene and andare bene mean the
same.
non è un po’ larga la gonna? ‘isn’t the skirt a little big?’ (lit. ‘wide’)
stringere ‘to take in’ (of clothes). stringere means ‘to make tight, to
squeeze’; stringere la mano a qualcuno is ‘to shake hands’.
senza che si noti ‘without it showing’. senza che requires a
subjunctive.
Unit 17: A dress for a wedding
255
abbiamo risparmiato tempo ‘we’ve saved time’
che ne dice? ‘what do you say about it?’ That is, ‘do you like the
idea?’.
diamoci del tu ‘let’s use “tu” ’. In English: ‘let’s use ﬁrst names’. When
you use ‘tu’ you also use ﬁrst names.
Using avere + noun
ha ragione
‘you’re right’
You met this in Unit 5 and again in Unit 15. A number of common
ideas, which in English are expressed using ‘to be’ and an adjective, in Italian are conveyed by avere and a noun:
avere
avere
avere
avere
avere
ragione
caldo
fame
fretta
sonno
to
to
to
to
to
be
be
be
be
be
right
hot
hungry
in a hurry
sleepy
avere
avere
avere
avere
avere
torto
to
freddo
to
sete
to
bisogno di to
17 anni
to
be wrong
be cold
be thirsty
need
be 17
Ho fame, andiamo a mangiare. C’è un ristorante qui vicino?
I’m hungry, let’s go and eat. Is there a restaurant near here?
Mi scusi, ho fretta. Devo partire con il treno delle undici.
Devo scappare.
Forgive me, I’m in a hurry. I have to catch the eleven o’clock
train. I must ﬂy.
Ho bisogno di un nuovo vestito.
I need a new dress/suit.
Vocabulary
Il vestiario
biancheria
(personale)
impermeabile
camicia
camicetta
golf
cappotto
underwear
raincoat
shirt (man’s)
blouse
cardigan,
knitted jacket
overcoat
giacca
pantaloni
cappello
gonna
calze (sing.
calza)
calzini
collant
jacket
trousers
hat
skirt
stockings
socks
tights
256
Unit 17: Un vestito per un matrimonio
tailleur
(women’s) suit
(di) lana
wool
(di) seta
silk
(di) cotone
cotton
stare/andare bene a (qualcuno)
vestito
(man’s suit),
(women’s) dress
largo
wide, loose
stretto
narrow, tight
corto
short
to suit (someone)
Cultural point
As we saw, the inﬂuence of Paris, which used to be the fashion
capital of the world, is still alive in words such as tailleur and
boutique. However, you will probably know that it is the designers
of Milan who now outshine those of Paris in the world of fashion.
It is, of course, a sphere where imaginations are more than usually
lively in the use of words as well as in design. Foreign words have
a particular glamour. Reading the fashion pages you will ﬁnd
writers appear to try to avoid the standard words. It will add to
your fun when you read – and you may well ﬁnd English words
being used, which of course sound exotic in Italian!
Exercise 5
We are now at the end of our course. You have studied the main
structures of Italian grammar, been introduced to many of the situations you are likely to ﬁnd yourself in in Italy and met a very
large number of words. The second set of dialogues above
contained many of the grammar points you have studied. Can you
pick out examples of the following:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
The conditional?
The imperfect?
The perfect (passato prossimo)?
The future?
The imperative?
Personal pronouns, direct and indirect object?
Combined pronouns?
Relative pronouns?
And what should you do next, especially if you didn’t pick them
out correctly? Yes, revise those points. Revision, combined with
speaking, reading and hearing as much Italian as you can, will help
you gradually to become more and more at ease with the language.
Unit 17: A dress for a wedding
You are now ready to visit Italy and try out your Italian. Be
prepared for surprises and disappointments, but also for fun and
moments to treasure.
Readings
I borghi d.o.c.
And in readiness for that visit, here is information on three of the
borghi d.o.c. (see Unit 15), which you may want to put on your
itinerary.
1 Why might you not be surprised to meet people dressed in
thirteenth-century costume in Apricale?
2 Why can’t cars go into Apricale?
Apricale: Le auto? Non ci passano
Se passeggiando per le strade di Apricale inconstraste persone
vestite come nel ’200, forse non ci fareste caso. Raccolto intorno
Apricale. From the town’s website www.apricale.org.
Courtesy the Mayor of Apricale.
257
258
Unit 17: Un vestito per un matrimonio
alla piazzetta centrale, questo borgo tutto di pietra nella provincia
di Imperia è situato su quella che era la via dell’olio, a 13 chilometri
dal mare. E sulle strade lastricate, quasi delle mulattiere, . . . dovevano trovarsi a loro agio gli asinelli di un tempo, con le loro giare
ricolme di olio. Non certo le auto . . . Le mura medievali, l’arco
acuto e il castello con il giardino pensile sono ancora perfettamente
conservati e, tra i muri, molti artisti hanno trovato lo spazio per
bellissimi affreschi . . .
(Adapted from an article in Vera magazine,
March 2003, by kind permission of the publishers)
Vocabulary notes
giare (f. pl.) ‘jars’. These are usually terracotta and are used as
containers and as measures of quantity for oil.
giardino pensile ‘hanging garden’. This would usually be supported by
arches and typically would be overlooking a valley.
le mura, i muri muro ‘wall’ has a plural muri for most meanings of the
word. Le mura means the fortiﬁcations of a town, i.e. a set of walls
designed for defensive purposes.
Dozza: come una galleria d’arte
1 What is the curious national competition that takes place in
Dozza?
Sono quasi cento i muri dipinti di questo borgo dell’Emilia
Romagna, trasformato in una vera e propria galleria d’arte
all’aperto. . . . Il borgo fortiﬁcato, con le case addossate le une alle
altre, termina nel punto più elevato con la Rocca di Caterina. Le
vie di Dozza . . . sono teatro del curioso concorso Nazionale del
Muro Dipinto. Il risultato sono opere d’arte che hanno dato un
nuovo volto al paese, integrandosi perfettamente con l’atmosfera
soave del borgo.
Vocabulary notes
le case addossate le une alle altre ‘the houses built back to back with
each other’
rocca (see castello) ‘fortress, castle’
un nuovo volto ‘a new face’
Unit 17: A dress for a wedding
Note: In its cellars, the Rocca houses the Enoteca Regionale, the
regional wine museum/showroom.
Castel di Tora: sul lago di Turano (Lazio)
1 Why are there many archeological remains in the area of Castel
di Tora?
2 Antuni is another small town – what picture do you get of it.
3 And of the area separating it from a third, Collalto Sabino.
“. . . un presepe che galleggia sulle acque del lago di Turano”. Con
questa immagine evocativa l’opusculo dell’Anci presenta Castel di
Tora, grazioso borgo a un’ora di distanza da Roma. Il paese fu
fondato sulle rovine dell’antica città romana di Thiora, in una zona
ancora ricca di testimonianze archeologiche. Da vedere sono la
Fontana del Tritone, la cinta muraria e la torre del Castello del
’200. Poco distante dal centro, su una penisola che si protende a
picco nelle acque del lago, da non perdere il caratteristico borgo
di Antuni . . . Solo 14 . . . sono i chilometri che separano Castel di
Tora da Collalto Sabino. Altro borgo del club, che tra castelli
diroccati e rifugi dei briganti domina l’intera vallata.
Vocabulary notes
un presepe ‘a crib’. The writer is probably thinking of the crib in the
sense of model of the stable where Christ was born.
cinta muraria ‘the circle of walls, fortiﬁcations’
da non perdere ‘not to be missed’
a picco ‘with a sharp drop below’
castelli diroccati ‘crumbling castles’
rifugi dei briganti ‘the brigands’ hideouts’. A feature of life particularly
in southern Italy in the nineteenth century; un rifugio is a shelter.
These three extracts are taken from the article ‘Per le vie dei borghi
d.o.c.’ in Vera magazine, March 2003, also used in Unit 15.
To ﬁnd out more, visit the website www.borghitalia.it where you
can ﬁnd out about these little towns, region by region, and the
aims etc. of the club that promotes them.
Buon viaggio e buona fortuna!
259
Grammar
summary
When grammar points are dealt with in a single unit, the reader
is referred to that unit. This section contains summaries of points
that are scattered over two or more units.
Nouns and articles
Deﬁnite
article
Indeﬁnite
article
Noun
Masculine singular
il
un
l’
un
lo
uno
una
l’
un’
Noun
Masculine plural
{
{
{
vino
padre
albergo
ambiente
spuntino
zio
studente
Feminine singular
la
Deﬁnite
article
i
gli
gli
{
{
{
vini
padri
alberghi
ambienti
spuntini
zii
studenti
Feminine plural
{
{
casa
madre
stella
azienda
estate
le
le
{
{
case
madri
stelle
aziende
estati
Note: The indeﬁnite article does not have a plural. The partitive
article would convey the idea with a plural noun (‘some’) and can
also be used with a single non-count noun, e.g. pane ‘bread’. The
form is di + deﬁnite article, see ‘Prepositions with the deﬁnite
article’ below (p. 261).
Grammar summary
261
Adjectives
In Italian, adjectives must agree with (match) the noun they
describe in gender (m. or f.) and number (sing. or pl.). There are
two main types: (1) those with a masculine singular ending in -o;
and (2) those with a singular ending (both m. and f.) in -e.
Masculine
Type 1
Type 2
Feminine
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
rosso
verde
rossi
verdi
rossa
verde
rosse
verdi
Adverbs
See Unit 8.
Prepositions with the deﬁnite article
See Unit 6. Some common short prepositions combine with the
deﬁnite article. Here is the complete table.
a
di
da
su
in
il
al
l’ (m.
all’
and f.)
lo
allo
la
alla
i
ai
gli
agli
del
dell’
dal
dall’
sul
sull’
nel
nell’
dello
della
dei
degli
dallo
dalla
dai
dagli
sullo
sulla
sui
sugli
nello
nella
nei
negli
le
delle
dalle
sulle
nelle
alle
{
{
{
libro
albergo
azienda
studio
casa
negozi
alberghi
studi
case
aziende
In older Italian, con and per were combined with the deﬁnite
article, giving col and pel etc. This is unusual today, although in
speaking con is combined with the deﬁnite article by some
262
Grammar summary
speakers. Learners need not worry about this. In the case of al,
del etc. where there is a double consonant in the spelling it is
because a double consonant is pronounced.
Pronouns
This is a summary of the information on personal pronouns given
in Units 1, 5, 6, 8 and 9.
Subject
Direct
object
(unstressed)
io
tu
lui
lei
Lei*
noi
voi
mi
ti
lo
la
La*
ci
vi
me
you
him
her
you
us
you
li
le
I
you
he
she
you
we
you
loro they
(m.)
loro they
(f.)
Indirect
object
(unstressed)
Reﬂexive
Stressed
mi
ti
gli
le
Le*
ci
vi
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
me
te
lui
lei
Lei*
noi
voi
them
gli
to them si
them
gli
to them si
(to) myself
(to) yourself
(to) himself
(to) herself
(to) yourself
(to) ourselves
(to) yourselves
(to) themselves
(to) themselves
me
you
him
her
you
us
you
mi
ti
si
si
Si*
ci
vi
me
you
him
her
you
us
you
loro them
loro them
* formal form
Note: There exist the subject forms egli/ella ‘he/she’; and also
esso/essa ‘it’ and essi/esse ‘they/them’, which are usually used when
referring to objects or concepts (not people). All belong to formal
writing rather than speech.
Stressed or strong pronouns
me, te, lui, lei, Lei (formal ‘you’), noi, voi, loro are used:
1 After a preposition:
Sta parlando di te.
He’s talking about you.
Grammar summary
263
Venite con me.
Come with me.
2 For emphasis:
Ama me, non te.
He loves me, not you.
Negatives
This is a summary of the information given in Units 3, 13, 14
and 15.
1 Simple negative, non placed before the verb:
Non sono italiano.
I am not Italian.
2 Stronger negative:
non . . . mica
non . . . affatto
non . . . per niente
non . . . per nulla
3 Other negative expressions:
non . . . ancora
non . . . mai
non . . . niente
non . . . nulla
non . . . nessuno
non . . . più
non . . . nemmeno
non . . . neanche
non . . . neppure
nè . . . nè
}
}
not yet
never, not ever
nothing, not anything
no one, not . . . anyone
no longer, not any more
not even
neither . . . nor, not . . .
either . . . or
There must be a negative word before the verb. Most of the expressions in (3) above may be placed at the beginning of the sentence,
in which case the non is not necessary:
Nessuno sa dov’è andato.
No one knows where he has gone.
With a compound tense, niente, nulla, nessuno and nè . . . nè come
after the past participle:
264
Grammar summary
Non ho capito niente.
I didn’t understand anything.
Non ho visto nessuno.
I didn’t see anyone.
Non ha detto nè sì nè no.
He didn’t say yes or no.
But:
Non ha mai lavorato tanto.
He has never worked so much.
Non ha ancora deciso.
He hasn’t made his mind up yet.
Non ha nemmeno ﬁnito di mangiare.
He hasn’t even ﬁnished eating.
Most of the negatives can be used without a verb or can stand
alone:
– Ti piace?
– Do you like it (him)?
– Affatto.
– Not at all.
– Chi hai visto?
– Who did you see?
– Nessuno.
– No one.
– Hai visto Gianni e Paolo?
– Did you see Gianni and Paolo?
– Nè l’uno nè l’altro.
– Neither the one nor the other.
Interrogatives
These are words (pronouns or adjectives) for asking questions:
Che,1 che cosa, cosa?
Quale (+ vowel: qual with
no apostrophe)/quali?
Chi?
Come? 1
Come mai
Dove?
What?
Which?
Who?
How?
Why (but introduces a note of
surprise into the question)
Where?
Grammar summary
Quando?
Quanto? 1
Perché? 2
265
When?
How much?
Why?
Note:
1 come, quanto, (plus verb) and che (plus noun or adjective), can
also be used as exclamatives:
Come sei elegante!
Quanto sei elegante!
Che bello!
Che paura!
Che fortuna!
How smart you are!
How smart you are!
How lovely!
What a fright!
What luck!
2 perché also means ‘because’.
Relative pronouns
• che ‘who, whom, which’ can refer to a person or an object and
can be the subject or the object of the clause it introduces. See
Unit 4 for a detailed treatment.
• cui, not che, is used after a preposition:
La signora con cui ho parlato è stata molto gentile.
The lady who I talked with was very nice.
• il cui, la cui, i cui, le cui all mean ‘whose’; the article must be
the one that would go with the object possessed:
Il signor Rossi, la cui ﬁglia vuole studiare negli Stati
Uniti . . .
Mr Rossi, whose daughter wants to study in the
United States . . .
L’autore, i cui libri hanno un enorme successo, ha accettato
il nostro invito.
The author whose books are having a great success has
accepted our invitation.
• il quale, la quale, i quali, le quali – ‘who, which’ can replace che
or cui and are especially useful to avoid ambiguity:
La ﬁglia di mio cugino, la quale lavora in Francia, . . .
My cousin’s daughter, who works in France, . . .
266
Grammar summary
la quale makes it clear that it is the daughter, not the cousin,
who works in France.
• chi ‘he who, some . . . others’ is used in proverbs and sayings
and sentences such as those below:
Chi va piano, va sano e va lontano.
He who goes slowly, goes safely and a long way.
C’è chi pensa che . . .
There are those who think . . .
Erano molto allegri: chi cantava, chi ballava, chi rideva . . .
They were very happy: some were singing, some dancing,
some laughing . . .
• ciò che, quello che ‘what’ refers to ideas, rather than speciﬁc
nouns:
So quello che bisogna fare.
I know what it is necessary to do.
Dimmi ciò che pensi.
Tell me what you think.
• tutto ciò che, tutto quello che mean ‘everything that/which’:
So tutto ciò che è successo.
I know everything that happened.
Possessives
These (‘my, your’ etc.) are dealt with fully in Unit 10.
Demonstratives
• questo ‘this, this one’ has regular forms in -o, -a, -i, -e. See
Unit 5.
• quello ‘that, that one’ has a regular form when it is a pronoun.
When used as an adjective before the noun, its endings are those
of the deﬁnite article: quel, quell’, quello, quei, quegli, quella,
quelle. See Unit 5.
• ciò means ‘that’. It refers to ideas or phrases, not speciﬁc people
or objects. It is mostly used with che as a relative pronoun:
Grammar summary
Trovo interessante ciò che dice.
I ﬁnd what (that which) he says interesting.
But it will be found without che:
Ciò vuol dire che non hai capito.
That means you haven’t understood.
Indeﬁnites
Reference list of indeﬁnite adjectives (adj.) and pronouns (pr.):
uno (pr.) one, someone (used in the same way as impersonal si)
qualcuno (pr.) someone;
ogni (a.) every, each (+ sing.)
tutti i . . ./tutte le . . . (adj.) every, each, all (+ pl.)
tutti/e (pr.) everyone (used without a noun and followed by
plural verb)
tutti e due/tutte e due (pr.) both (Note: Used as an adjective the
article is needed: Tutte e due le sorelle ‘Both sisters’)
ognuno (pr.) each person, everyone (sing. only)
ciascuno/a (pr.), ciascun/a (adj.) each, each one (sing. only)
qualcosa, qualche cosa (pr.) something
qualche (adj.) some (+ sing. noun) (refers to a few, not a large
number)
alcuni/e (adj. and pr.) some (pl.)1
alcun/a (adj. sing.) can be used with non to form a negative: Non
ho alcun’idea ‘I don’t have any idea’
altro/a/i/e (adj. and pr.) other, another2
qualsiasi, qualunque (adj.) any, whatever
chiunque (pr.) anyone (it doesn’t matter who)
molto, molti/e (pr.); molto/a/i/e (adj.) much, many
poco, pochi (pr.); poco/a/hi/he (adj.) few, little
un poco, un po’ a little (a bit)
troppo (adj. and pr.) too much
tanto (adj. and pr.) so much
267
268
Grammar summary
parecchio (adj. and pr.) some, several, a good many, a good deal
tale/i (adj.) such
un tale (pr.) is used to convey ‘someone or other’
certe persone some (people)
Note:
1 The partitive, del, also conveys ‘some’ but the amount is more
open; qualche and alcuni mean ‘a few’.
2 (a) Ho comprato altri due libri ‘I bought two other/more books’
(altri tre, altri quattro etc.); (b) Certe persone pensano questo,
altri no ‘Some people think this, others not’; Ecco i pomodori.
Altro? ‘Here are the tomatoes. Anything else?’
(See also the section on ‘Negatives’, p. 263.)
Verbs
Non-ﬁnite moods
See Unit 15.
The inﬁnitive
Present
There are three main types, ending in (1) -are, (2) -ere or (3) -ire.
For reﬂexive verbs the reﬂexive pronoun is attached to the inﬁnitive: divertirsi ‘to enjoy oneself’. In a sentence the reﬂexive
pronoun must be the appropriate one for the subject of the verb
preceding the inﬁnitive:
Vogliamo divertirci.
We want to enjoy ourselves.
Note: (a) In group (2), some of the inﬁnitives have the stress on
the e of -ere, while others have the stress on the preceding syllable,
e.g. temere but vendere. The verbs do not differ in form or
stress at any other point of the conjugation. (b) Some verbs have
inﬁnitives that have become contracted over the centuries, e.g.
bere, produrre, porre. In some tenses they function from the older
inﬁnitive, e.g. bevere, producere, ponere.
Grammar summary
269
Past or perfect inﬁnitive
Formed using avere or essere, according to which of these the verb
is conjugated with (see ‘Compound tenses’, p. 273), and the past
participle (see p. 125 and below).
avere mangiato
essere arrivato
to have eaten
to have arrived
Note: With reﬂexive verbs the appropriate reﬂexive pronoun is
attached to the inﬁnitive:
Sono contento di essermi divertito.
I am happy to have enjoyed myself.
The gerund
See Unit 11.
The past participle
See Unit 8.
Common irregular forms are:
-ere verbs
chiudere
decidere
includere
rimanere
leggere
vedere
perdere
nascere
chiuso
deciso
incluso
rimasto
letto
visto or veduto
perso or perduto
nato
spendere
prendere
uccidere
scrivere
chiedere
rispondere
mettere
speso
preso
ucciso
scritto
chiesto
risposto
messo
aperto
offerto
coprire
coperto
venire
dire
venuto
detto
-ire verbs
aprire
offrire
Irregular verbs
essere
fare
stato
fatto
270
Grammar summary
stare
dare
stato
dato
morire
morto
Note: These have a regular past participle:
avere
volere
andare
sapere
avuto
voluto
andato
saputo
potere
dovere
uscire
potuto
dovuto
uscito
Finite moods
See Unit 15.
The indicative – simple tenses
Present
This is a summary of information given in Units 1 to 5.
Regular verbs
Note: Verbs in -ire divide into: (1) those that have an extra syllable,
-isc-, in some parts of the present tense; and (2) those that form
their present tense exactly like verbs in the -ere group.
-are
-ere
-ire (1)
-ire (2)
parlo
parli
parla
parliamo
parlate
parlano
vendo
vendi
vende
vendiamo
vendete
vendono
capisco
capisci
capisce
capiamo
capite
capiscono
parto
parti
parte
partiamo
partite
partono
In the third person plural of all these verbs the stress falls on the
antepenultimate syllable.
Spelling
(1) Verbs ending in -care, -gare, -ciare, -giare, -sciare. The sound
does not change and the spelling is adapted to show this. The ﬁrst
two types (-care, -gare) insert an h before an i in the ending;
Grammar summary
the others (-ciare, -giare, -sciare) omit the i of the stem before i
or e. This is also true in other tenses.
cerco, cerchi, cerca, cerchiamo, cercate, cercano
pago, paghi, paga, paghiamo, pagate, pagano
comincio, cominci, comincia, cominciamo, cominciate, cominciano
mangio, mangi, mangia, mangiamo, mangiate, mangiano
lascio, lasci, lascia, lasciamo, lasciate, lasciano
(2) Verbs ending in -cere, -ggere. With verbs in the -ere group
the opposite happens – the spelling does not change because the
sound does:
vincere: vinco, vinci, vince, vinciamo, vincete, vincono
leggere: leggo, leggi, legge, leggiamo, leggete, leggono
Imperfect
For a table of regular forms see Unit 13. A few verbs are irregular
and they are fully dealt with in Unit 13.
Future
For a table of regular forms see Unit 16. The following verbs are
irregular in the future tense:
(a) essere: sarò, sarai, sarà, saremo, sarete, saranno
(b) verbs that lose the vowel of their inﬁnitive: the endings follow
the regular pattern:
andare: andrò, andrai, andrà, andremo, andrete, andranno
avere: avrò; dovere: dovrò; sapere: saprò
vedere: vedrò; vivere: vivrò
(c) verbs that lose the vowel and also have the ﬁnal vowel of the
stem of the inﬁnitive changed to become the same as the
second, giving -rr-:
rimanere: rimarrò
venire: verrò
volere: vorrò
(d) bere: berrò
271
272
Grammar summary
(e) dare: darò; fare: farò; stare: starò
The ﬁrst and third person singular are stressed on the ﬁnal vowel,
which is written with an accent to indicate this.
Past deﬁnite
This tense has not been presented in the text, but its use is
explained brieﬂy in Unit 13.
parlai
parlasti
parlò
parlammo
parlaste
parlarono
vendei (etti)
vendesti
vendè (ette)
vendemmo
vendeste
venderono (ettero)
capii
capisti
capì
capimmo
capiste
capirono
Note:
(a) The stress falls on the penultimate syllable except in the third
person singular, where the accented vowel is stressed, and the third
person plural where the stress falls on the antepenultimate syllable.
(b) In the -ere group of verbs, as well as in some irregular verbs,
there are alternative forms for the ﬁrst and third person singular
and third person plural. (These forms are given in brackets.) Many
verbs in this group are irregular in this tense. They are irregular
in the ﬁrst and third person singular and the third person plural,
but regular in the other parts. Therefore if you know the ﬁrst and
second person singular you can form the remaining parts. bere,
dire, fare form the passato remoto from their older inﬁnitives.
Below are some examples:
avere:
dire:
fare:
vedere:
ebbi, avesti, ebbe, avemmo, aveste, ebbero
dissi, dicesti, disse, dicemmo, diceste, dissero
feci, facesti, fece, facemmo, faceste, fecero
vidi, vedesti, vide, vedemmo, vedeste, videro
Given the ﬁrst and second person the others may be formed on
these models.
bere:
chiedere:
chiudere:
conoscere:
decidere:
bevvi (bevetti), bevesti
chiesi, chiedesti
chiusi, chiudesti
conobbi, conoscesti
decisi, decidesti
Grammar summary
leggere:
mettere:
nascere:
prendere:
rimanere:
rispondere:
sapere:
scendere:
uccidere:
273
lessi, leggesti
misi, mettesti
nacqui, nascesti
presi, prendesti
rimasi, rimanesti
risposi, rispondesti
seppi, sapesti
scesi, scendesti
uccisi, uccidesti
Also irregular are:
essere:
dare:
venire:
volere:
stare:
vivere:
fui, fosti, fu, fummo, foste, furono
diedi (detti), desti
venni, venisti
volli, volesti
stetti, stesti
vissi, vivesti
The indicative – compound tenses
Present perfect
See also Units 10, 11, 15 and 16. This is formed with the present
tense of avere or essere and the past participle.
(A)
Verbs conjugated with essere include:
1 verbs of motion: andare, venire, arrivare, partire, entrare, uscire,
salire, scendere, tornare, passare da;
2 verbs indicating a change of state: ingrassare, dimagrire, diventare, divenire, aumentare, diminuire, migliorare;
3 essere, stare, nascere, morire, piacere;
4 verbs used reﬂexively;
5 verbs used impersonally, e.g. è sembrato ‘it seemed’;
6 verbs relating to weather conditions can be conjugated with
essere, but they will also be found with avere: è nevicato and
ha nevicato.
The past participle must agree with the subject:
sono andato/a
sei andato/a
è andato/a
siamo andati/e
siete andati/e
sono andati/e
274
Grammar summary
mi sono divertito/a
ti sei divertito/a
si è divertito/a
(B)
ci siamo divertiti/e
vi siete divertiti/e
si sono divertiti/e
All other verbs are conjugated with avere:
ho ﬁnito
hai ﬁnito
ha ﬁnito
abbiamo ﬁnito
avete ﬁnito
hanno ﬁnito
The past participle does not agree with the subject. If there is a
direct object pronoun preceding the verb, it agrees with that: I
biscotti? Li ho ﬁniti.
Other compound tenses can be formed with essere or avere
according to the verb.
Pluperfect
The imperfect of avere or essere plus the past participle:
avevo ﬁnito
ero andato/a
I had ﬁnished
I had gone
Future perfect
The future of avere or essere plus the past participle:
avrò ﬁnito
sarò andato/a
I shall have ﬁnished
I shall have gone
The conditional
See Unit 15.
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is formed with the conditional of avere or
essere and the past participle (see Notes).
avrei parlato
sarei andato/a
I would have spoken
I would have gone, etc.
The imperative
This is a summary of the information given in Unit 6. There is no
ﬁrst person singular for the imperative; and the third person plural
is rarely used since the formal plural, loro, is rarely used. The plural
Grammar summary
275
‘you’ is normally voi. As in the present indicative, the -ire group
subdivides. An example of each type is given.
parla
parli
parliamo
parlate
parlino
vendi
venda
vendiamo
vendete
vendano
capisci
capisca
capiamo
capite
capiscano
parti
parta
partiamo
partite
partano
The stress is regular except that in the third person plural form it
falls on the antepenultimate syllable.
The subjunctive
1 Present: see Unit 17.
2 Perfect subjunctive: this is formed using the present subjunctive
of avere or essere and the past participle:
abbia parlato
sia andato/a
3 Imperfect: see Unit 15.
4 Pluperfect: this is formed with the imperfect subjunctive of avere
or essere and the past participle:
avessi parlato
fossi andato/a
The passive
All the verbs above are active. Those that can take a direct object
can be made passive using essere and the past participle, or sometimes venire or andare and the past participle (see Units 8 and 9).
Present:
Il lavoro è fatto a mano.
The work is done by hand.
Perfect:
Il lavoro è stato fatto a mano.
The work has been/was done by hand.
Imperfect:
Il lavoro era fatto a mano.
The work was being done/used to be
done by hand.
Future:
Il lavoro sarà fatto a mano.
The work will be done by hand.
Future perfect:
Il lavoro sarà stato fatto a mano.
The work will have been done by hand.
276
Grammar summary
Conditional:
Il lavoro sarebbe fatto a mano.
The work would be done by hand.
Conditional
perfect:
Il lavoro sarebbe stato fatto a mano.
The work would have been done
by hand.
Present
subjunctive:
Occorre che il lavoro sia fatto a mano.
The work must be done by hand.
Imperfect
subjunctive:
Voleva che il lavoro fosse fatto a mano.
He wanted the work to be done by hand.
Verbs and other expressions followed by
an inﬁnitive
To express certain ideas, we frequently need to use a verb, an
adjective, or a noun followed by a verb. In this case this following
verb is in the inﬁnitive. The precise structure necessary will depend
on the ﬁrst word.
• No preposition is required after dovere, potere, volere, lasciare,
piacere, preferire, sapere, vedere; basta, bisogna, facile, difﬁcile,
possibile, impossibile, necessario; bene, meglio. For example:
Mi piace ballare.
I like dancing/to dance.
Basta telefonare.
All you need to do is telephone.
(lit. ‘It is enough to telephone’)
E’ difﬁcile sapere che cosa fare.
It’s difﬁcult to know what to do.
• The preposition a is required after a number of verbs, including
andare, abituarsi, cominciare, imparare, provare, venire; and
after certain adjectives including abituato, pronto. For example:
Vado a sciare domenica.
I am going skiing on Sunday.
Comincia a piovere.
It’s beginning to rain.
Sei pronto a fare il bagno?
Are you ready to bathe/have a bath?
Grammar summary
• The preposition di is required after many verbs, including
credere, decidere, dimenticare, ricordarsi; after adjectives such
as contento, felice; and after nouns, where it is usually used with
avere, e.g. avere paura di, avere bisogno di. For example:
Credo di farcela.
I believe I can manage it.
Ha deciso di partire domani.
He has decided to leave tomorrow.
Sono contento di sapere che stai meglio.
I am pleased to know you are better.
Ho paura di fare un errore.
I am afraid of making a mistake.
Students are advised to consult a good dictionary when in doubt.
277
Key to exercises
Unit 1
Al bar
Aranciata – this is a ﬁzzy orange drink; Coca-Cola.
Prima colazione
1 Maria has a bun; Piera has a pastry. 2 Maria drinks a white coffee,
Piera black.
Exercise 1
un vino rosso, un gelato, una birra, un caffè, un’ acqua minerale,
una spremuta, un succo di frutta, un tè, un vino bianco, un’ aranciata
Exercise 2
1 un cappuccino 2 un’aranciata 3 una spremuta di arancia 4 una
birra
Exercise 3
(1) 7, (2) 9, (3) 400, (4) 803, (5) 2.500, (6) 1.300, (7) 10.000,
(8) 6.100 (9) 55, (10) 79
Exercise 4
1 Tre euro settantun centesimi 2 Due euro dieci centesimi 3 Venti
euro 4 Trenta euro 5 Un euro sessanta centesimi; each coffee:
ottanta centesimi 6 Dieci euro cinquantotto centesimi
Key to exercises
Un appuntamento con il signor Rossi
1 To wait a moment and to sit down 2 S’accomodi
Un incontro per la strada
Because the teacher has to go, presumably he’s hurrying somewhere.
Exercise 5
Avv. Bruni: Buongiorno, signor Rossi, come va? Sig.Rossi: Bene
grazie. E Lei? Avv. Bruni. Bene. Devo andare. ArrivederLa. Sig.
Rossi: ArrivederLa (Buongiorno).
Exercise 6
In Al bar: l Prego. lit. I beg, request. 2 Va bene. lit. It goes well.
It’s ﬁne, OK. In Prima colazione: 3 Desidera? lit. You desire? i.e.
What would you like? In Un appuntamento con il signor Rossi:
4 Sono Angela Smith. I am Angela Smith. 5 Come va? How are
you? In Un incontro per la strada: 6 Ha un raffreddore. He has a
cold. 7 Mi dispiace. lit. it is displeasing to me. I’m sorry. 8 Sta bene.
He’s well. 9 Lavora molto. He’s working a lot. 10 Devo andare.
I have to go.
Bar famosi
1 In 1720. 2 Sparkling white wine and peach juice. 3 Yes. The food
is very good, but the bill would be substantial. 4 Arrigo Cipriani.
Exercise 7
You should ﬁnd it easy to make the list and the unit gives you
help with all the meanings.
Unit 2
Sono americano, e lei?
1 In Boston. 2 In Rome. 3 His mother is Italian, from Siracusa in
Sicily. 4 His brother lives in Los Angeles and he ﬁnds the US
friendly and interesting. 5 Yes. He likes Bologna: it is friendly and
interesting.
279
280
Key to exercises
Exercise 1
1 Sean Connery è scozzese (britannico) 2 Michael Schumacher è
tedesco 3 Koﬁ Annan è ghanese 4 Tiger Woods è americano
5 Arnold Schwarzenegger è austriaco 6 Meryl Streep è americana
7 Roma è una città italiana 8 New York è una città americana
9 Rio de Janeiro è una città brasiliana 10 Toronto è una città
canadese 11 Sydney è una città australiana 12 Tokio è una
città giapponese
Exercise 2
Chiara studia. Lucia canta. Paolo fuma. Luigí balla. Anna telefona.
Marco lavora.
If you were doing them you would say: 1 Canto 2 Fumo 3 Lavoro
4 Telefono 5 Ballo 6 Studio
Exercise 3
1 Mi chiamo Charlie Hardcastle. 2 Sono sudafricano. 3 Abito a
Johannesburg. 4 Parlo inglese e francese. 5 Mia madre è francese,
di Bordeaux. 6 Bordeaux è una città simpatica.
Exercise 4
1 Mi piace lavorare 2 Mi piace New York 3 Mi piace cantare 4 Mi
piace Roma 5 Mi piace parlare italiano 6 Mi piace Luciano
Pavarotti
Exercise 5
1 Devo telefonare 2 Devo lavorare 3 Devo venire 4 Devo studiare
Mi chiamo Paolo Bianchi
1 His name is Paolo Bianchi. 2 From Milan. 3 In Milan. 4 In a
hospital in Milan. 5 He is tall and fair-haired. 6 Yes. 7 He likes
playing tennis and he also likes classical music.
Exercise 6
1 sono 2 sono 3 abito (or lavoro) 4 lavoro 5 sono
Key to exercises
Exercise 7
Mi chiamo Giorgio. Abito a Napoli. Mia madre abita a Roma con
mio fratello. Sono medico in un ospedale a Napoli. Mi piace il mio
lavoro. Sono sportivo e mi piace giocare a golf e a tennis. Mi scusi,
devo scappare. Mi dispiace. Arrivederci.
Mi chiamo Luisa Lucchini
1 History and geography. 2 Yes, she likes tennis and golf. 3 Because
it is a big, lively city, interesting and stimulating. You may also
have said: She likes opera and in Milan there is La Scala opera
house.
Exercise 8
Possible combinations are: una birra: bionda, australiana; una
signora, una madre, una signorina: romana, bionda, australiana,
vivace, interessante; un signore, un marito, un fratello, un professore: alto, simpatico, interessante, americano, sportivo, vivace,
sposato;un vino: bianco, americano, vivace, interessante, simpatico;
un lavoro, un paese: interessante, simpatico; una città: interessante,
australiana.
Suo marito, come si chiama?
1 He is a good pianist. 2 No, he is Scottish. 3 He works in a bank.
(He is an accountant or ﬁnancial adviser.) 4 No. He’s mad about
do-it-yourself. 5 In Toronto, Canada, presumably, since that is
where Bill works.
Exercise 9
1 Sono australiana. Sono alta e bionda. Sono sposata. Lavoro a
Sydney. 2 Sono canadese. Sono sposato. Mia moglie è inglese.
Abito a Milano. 3 Sono italiano, sono siciliano, di Palermo. Mi
chiamo Salvatore. Abito a Bologna. Lavoro in una banca. Sono
sposato e mia moglie è scozzese. E’ insegnante. 4 E’ australiana,
alta e bionda, sposata e lavora a Sydney. 5 E’ canadese. E’ sposato.
Sua moglie è inglese. Abita a Milano. 6 E’ italiano, siciliano, di
Palermo. Si chiama Salvatore. Abita a Bologna e lavora in una
banca. E’ sposato e sua moglie è scozzese. Lei è insegnante.
281
282
Key to exercises
Unit 3
A Perugia
1 It’s the town hall 2 Along Corso Vannucci, the main street 3 To
see the view over the valley towards Assisi
Exercise 1
You should have found the following. In Dialogue 1: Lei è americano? E Lei? Lei è in Italia per lavoro? E lei? E’ a Bologna per
lavoro? In Dialogue 2: E suo marito, come si chiama? Che lavoro
fa? (twice) E come passa il suo tempo libero? E’ sportivo, ama lo
sport?
Exercise 2
1 il 2 il 3 la 4 la 5 il
C’è una banca qui vicino?
1 He asks whether there is a bank nearby 2 Because he thinks the
bank is shut at that time
Exercise 3
1 C’è un ristorante qui vicino? 2 C’è una farmacia qui vicino?
3 C’è un albergo qui vicino? 4 C’è una fermata dell’autobus qui
vicino? 5 C’è un supermercato qui vicino?
Scusi, dov’è il consolato americano?
The passer-by doesn’t know where it is and suggests the tourist
asks at the town tourist ofﬁce.
Exercise 4
1 V (vero), 2 V, 3 F (falso), 4 F, 5 V. Only you can answer 6 to
12.
Exercise 5
1 No, non lavoro qui 2 No, non abito in questa città 3 No, non
sono qui in vacanza 4 No, non sono americano/a 5 No, non parlo
francese
Key to exercises
Exercise 6
1 La Mole Antonelliana (the symbol of the city of Turin, in the
way the Leaning Tower is for Pisa). 2 Piazza San Carlo (a lovely
square). 3 Il Duomo (where the Turin Shroud is kept).
Exercise 7
Open
Exercise 8
1 vedo 2 Dipende 3 chiedere; abito 4 Prenda 5 Chiedo 6 abita
7 piace 8 chiama 9 lavora 10 vedi; prendi
A Roma
1 It used to be the residence of the Venetian ambassadors. (Venice
was an independent republic until 1797. Rome was, until 1870, the
capital of a state whose head was the Pope.) 2 Because it is a
monument to the ﬁrst king of the united Italy, Victor Emmanuel
II, who was the ﬁgurehead and rallying point of the movement for
uniﬁcation. 3 It was the religious centre. 4 Because it runs through
the area of the imperial forums/fora. 5 Between Piazza Venezia
and Piazza del Popolo.
Unit 4
Devo andare a Torino
1 Relatively slow, taking over 2 hours for the journey 2 Faster,
taking only an hour 20 minutes 3 30 euro by Eurostar, second class,
return 4 40 euro
Exercise 1
1 diciotto 2 diciassette 3 dodici 4 diciannove 5 sedici
Exercise 2
1 milleduecentoquindici 2 millequattrocentonovantadue 3 millesettecentoottantanove 4 milleottocentoquindici 5 milleottocentoquarantotto 6 millenovecentodiciotto 7 millenovecentoquarantasei
8 duemilacinque
283
284
Key to exercises
Exercise 3
1 Sono le quattro e un quarto 2 Sono le due e mezzo 3 E’ mezzogiorno meno cinque (or you may have thought it was nearly
midnight: E’ mezzanotte meno cinque) 4 Sono le tre e dieci 5 Sono
le due meno un quarto
Exercise 4
Open
Exercise 5
1 e, 2 f, 3 d, 4 c, 5 a, 6 g, 7 b, 8 h
You would say: 1 Ballo . . . 2 Visito . . . 3 Prendo . . . 4 Guardo
. . . 5 Leggo . . . 6 Scrivo . . . 7 Parto . . .
Exercise 6
1 E’ 2 Abita 3 lavora 4 deve 5 parte 6 arriva 7 torna 8 ﬁnisce
9 dorme 10 preferisce 11 decide (lui)
Vorrei andare in Piazza Castello
1 No. 2 She has to get off behind the cathedral. She then has to
take a little street which will take her into Piazza Castello. 3 The
15.
Come si fa a prendere l’autobus?
1 From a tobacconist, a newsagent, in a bar, or wherever there is
a sign saying tickets are sold there. (Sometimes there is a ticket
machine at the bus stop.) 2 In cities, generally one pays the same
price for all journeys regardless of distance. 3 Because you are in
touch with people and you avoid parking problems.
L’aeroporto
1 Because English is much used in airports (and in the air). 2 When
the ﬂight is going to an English-speaking country.
Unit 5
Vorrei una guida
1 A small, pocket one. 2 No. The shop has only one sort at the
moment.
Key to exercises
Exercise 1
1 F (falso), 2 V (vero), 3 V, 4 F, 5 F
Exercise 2
Alberto is a very polite (well brought up) boy. At the moment he
is at high school. He is a very good student. He likes reading and
often goes to bookshops to look at and buy books.
Exercise 3
1 b, 2 d, 3 a, 4 e, 5 c
Exercise 4
1 Vorrei andare a Roma. 2 Mi dispiace, non posso andare a Roma.
3 Potrei vedere il libro? 4 Puoi (formal può) giocare a tennis
domani? Mi dispiace, non posso. Devo andare a Milano. 5 Non
voglio partire domani. 6 Si può partire per Roma stasera? Mi
dispiace, non si può. 7 Vorrei una birra. 8 Si può pagare con la
carta di credito? 9 Si può vedere l’Etna da qui?
Cinque cartoline per favore
1 Ten, ﬁve small and ﬁve large 2 The USA
Exercise 5
1 No, tre caffè. 2 . . . quattro aranciate. 3 . . . cinque birre. 4 . . . sei
acque minerali. 5 . . . sette spremute di arancia. 6 . . . otto cappuccini.
Exercise 6
1 L’albergo 2 La città 3 I ragazzi 4 Le cartoline 5 I francobolli 6
Lo studente 7 Gli ufﬁci 8 Il monumento 9 Gli scontrini 10 Le città
Exercise 7
1 Quell’albergo 2 Quella città 3 Quei ragazzi 4 Quelle cartoline
5 Quei francobolli 6 Quello studente 7 Quegli ufﬁci 8 Quel monumento 9 Quegli scontrini 10 Quelle città
Exercise 8
1 Preferiamo 2 Arriviamo 3 Comprano 4 Capite 5 Partono
6 Prendono
285
286
Key to exercises
Exercise 9
(a) 1 andiamo 2 guardiamo 3 leggiamo 4 invitiamo 5 vogliamo
(b) 1 lavorano 2 cominciano 3 tornano 4 mangiano 5 Finiscono
6 vogliono 7 devono
Il mercato in Italia
1 Because each little town and each district in the big towns has
one at least once a week. 2 Because people come in from the
surrounding areas to meet each other.
Unit 6
Vorrei parlare con il signor Rossi
1 Next week, when she will be in Italy. She suggests Wednesday
at 9 a.m. 2 He invites Angela to have dinner with him and his wife.
Exercise 1
1 il mese prossimo 2 il mese scorso 3 l’anno prossimo 4 l’anno
scorso 5 ogni anno 6 domani mattina 7 ieri pomeriggio
Exercise 2
1 Il primo maggio 2 Il venticinque dicembre 3 Il quattordici luglio
4 L’undici giugno 5 Il venticinque aprile 6 Il venti settembre
Exercise 3
(1) 115; (2) 118 – or perhaps 113, general emergency number;
(3) 113; (4) 112; (5) 1.96.96
Andiamo al cinema
1 Monday and Wednesday 2 At Marisa’s house
Exercise 4
. . . Biblioteca sulla salute e sullo sport . . . La possibilità nella bella
stagione di allenarsi all’ aperto . . . dal lunedì al venerdì dalle ore
9.00 alle ore 21.15, il sabato dalle ore 10.00 alle ore 12.30
. . . pranzo nel corso dell’ intervallo . . . che segue allo shopping, . . . prima dello spettacolo . . . sala del centro, . . . l’altra nella
città . . .
Key to exercises
Exercise 5
More logical order: 5, 2, 4, 6, 1, 3 (or perhaps: 3, 1)
Exercise 6
1 Si sveglia. 2 Si alza. 3 Fa la doccia. 4 Si veste. 5 Si pettina.
6 Fa colazione. 7 Si prepara ad andare a lavorare.
Exercise 7
1 d, 2 h, 3 g, 4 e, 5 a, 6 c, 7 b, 8 f
Exercise 8
1 prendi 2 gira 3 va’ 4 andare 5 gira 6 sta’ 7 girare 8 rallenta
9 prendi 10 cerca 11 facciamo
Exercise 9
1 Mi dica 2 Mi dia 3 Abbia pazienza 4 Mi scusi 5 Si accomodi
6 Aspetti
Exercise 10
Your text message will read something like this:
Volo in ritardo di 2 ore. Per favore, telefona all’albergo per
informare che arrivo tardi.
You may have omitted some vowels and perhaps the
punctuation:
Volo in rtrdo 2 ore. Per fav tlfona albergo infrmre arrvo tardi.
La domenica in Italia
1 Because, while many adults do not work, the children are at
school in the morning. 2 Having relations to lunch; going for a
walk – in the park, through the streets of the town, or in the
country; going to the cinema; watching a football match, or listening
to the radio commentary while out walking with the family; skiing.
3 To the sea or to the country.
287
288
Key to exercises
Unit 7
All’albergo (1)
1 Two double rooms. 2 They should have bathrooms and be quiet.
They don’t mind whether the beds are double or single. 3 She asks
to see the rooms.
Exercise 1
1 due giorni 2 due settimane 3 due mesi interessanti 4 due nuovi
progetti 5 due banche 6 due giornali 7 due cappuccini 8 due birre
9 i nuovi ﬁlm 10 gli spettacoli 11 i giornali interessanti 12 i supermercati francesi 13 le nuove gallerie 14 le strade che vanno in città
15 gli adulti responsabili 16 i vini rossi
All’albergo (2)
1 Taxes and service are included; breakfast is not. 2 Behind the
hotel, at the end of the courtyard.
Exercise 2
The order should be: 8, 1, 10, 2, 13 (or 8, 2, 13, 1, 10), 4, 14, 3, 5,
9, 7, 12, 15, 6, 11
Vorrei un po’ di frutta
1 They are very sweet, good for juicing. 2 She wants bananas,
grapefruit and apples. 3 98 centesimi or 1 euro (1⁄2 kilo at 1 euro
96 centesimi a kilo).
Exercise 3
Quanto costano: le albicocche? le ciliegie? i limoni? i meloni?
le pesche? le prugne? le arance? le fragole? le mele? le pere?
i pompelmi? le susine? but Quanto costa l’uva?
Ho bisogno di formaggio
1 300 grammes. 2 Ham, cured ham, not cooked.
Exercise 4
– Trentadue euro novanta centesimi al chilo il prosciutto nostrano.
– Trentacinque euro sessanta centesimi al chilo il prosciutto di
Key to exercises
Parma. – Quattro euro trenta centesimi il pecorino. – Tre euro trenta
centesimi il prosciutto. – Sette euro sessanta centesimi in tutto.
Exercise 5
Vorrei 1 dei limoni, 2 dei francobolli, 3 del caffè, 4 del formaggio,
5 dell’uva, 6 dell’acqua minerale, 7 delle arance, 8 delle pesche,
9 del pane
Ci sono altri colori?
1 For his wife. 2 A green one. 3 Because his sister likes to wear
her sweaters big.
Exercise 6
1 (a) compri (b) compro (c) comprate (d) compriamo 2 (a) leggo
(b) legge (c) leggono 3 (a) preferisco (b) preferisce 4 (a) parlano
(b) parlo (c) parla (d) parli 5 (a) vivono (b) viviamo
Il mio primo computer
1 It is about buying a computer for a child who has just started
school. In Italy this will be a six-year-old, although recently the
rising sixes have started to be admitted to school. 2 Buying a
computer for a child is compared to buying a car to go shopping
in. A Cinquecento is a small Fiat and would be adequate for the
purpose.
Unit 8
Un po’ di geograﬁa
1 F (falso). 2 F – they are to be found in the Alps. 3 F – quite the
opposite: three-quarters is mountain or hill. 4 V (vero). 5 F – they
both have a long history of industrial development. 6 F – the
Apennines are. 7 F – it is still active. 8 F. 9 V.
Exercise 1
1 Il fax deve essere spedito questa mattina. 2 La riunione può
essere organizzata per lunedì. 3 L’albergo può essere prenotato per
telefono. 4 La prenotazione può essere confermata per fax. 5 I
biglietti devono essere ritirati a mezzogiorno. 6 Roma può essere
informata via fax. 7 Il taxi può essere chiamato fra dieci minuti.
289
290
Key to exercises
Fare il ponte nel Bel Paese
1 Because Andrea knows Italy well. 2 Spending too much time in
the car. 3 He likes small, quiet places, she likes cities. 4 Verona.
5 Asolo.
Exercise 2
1 Bellissimo. 2 Simpaticissima. 3 Tranquillissimo. 4 Elegantissime.
5 Piacevolissimo.
Exercise 3
1 automaticamente 2 allegramente 3 velocemente 4 lentamente
5 bene 6 regolarmente
Exercise 4
1 Mi piace Roma. 2 Mi piacciono le montagne. 3 Mi piace visitare
monumenti storici. 4 Mi piacciono le isole piccolissime. 5 Mi piacciono questi spaghetti.
Exercise 5
(a) 1 Ti piacciono i vini italiani? 2 Ti piace Venezia? 3 Ti piace
studiare l’italiano? (b) 1 Le piacciono i vini italiani? 2 Le piace
Venezia? 3 Le piace studiare l’italiano? (c) 1 Vi piacciono i vini
italiani? 2 Vi piace Venezia ? 3 Vi piace studiare l’italiano?
Exercise 6
(a) 1 I should like to see the Campidoglio. 2 I should like to ride
in a gondola in Venice. 3 I should like to throw a coin into the
Trevi Fountain. 4 I should like to be at a Formula 1 race in Imola.
5 I should like to ski on the slopes of Mount Etna. 6 I should like
to go to Pompei and Herculaneum. 7 I should like to see Stromboli,
the volcano in the Aeolian Islands. (b) The choice is yours!
Exercise 7
1 C’è il lampadario etrusco. C’è also for numbers 2, 4, 6. Ci sono
for numbers 3, 5, 7.
Translations: 1 The Etruscan lamp in the Museum of the Etruscan
Academy. 2 Gino Severini’s mosaics of the stations of the cross.
3 The picturesque streets in the upper (high) part of the town.
Key to exercises
4 The view over the Val di Chiana (the Chiana Valley). 5 The
works by the painter Luca Signorelli. 6 The Medici fortress. 7 The
paintings by Fra Angelico in the Diocesan Museum.
Nord–Sud
1 It is poorer than the north. 2 A different history, different
customs, a different climate, different terrain, the longer history of
industrialization in the north, and being further away from the
economic centre of Europe. 3 The ancient Greek monuments to
be found there, fascinating towns and villages, the beautiful landscape and coastline and the human warmth of the people are some
of the attractions.
Unit 9
Al ristorante
1 Because it is light. 2 He says it is ‘excellent, very good’.
3 Lombardy.
Exercise 1
1 Sì, mi piacciono, le prendo. 2 Sì, mi piace, la prendo. 3 Sì, mi
piacciono, li prendo.
Exercise 2
Dov’è la lettera di Mary? Non la trovo. E la rivista? Non la vedo.
Dove sono i francobolli per le cartoline? Non li trovo. Vedi la
penna? Non la trovo. E questo conto. Non lo capisco. Aiuto!
Exercise 3
1 mi scrive . . . la leggo 2 ci conosce . . . Ci dà 3 Le passo 4 ti va
bene 5 La vedo 6 (informal, singular, tu): ti porta . . . Ti lascia;
(formal, singular, Lei): La porta . . . La lascia; (plural, voi): vi porta
. . . Vi lascia
Exercise 4
1 Il signor Galli mi conosce bene. Lo vedo ogni settimana. Mi telefona spesso. 2 Conosci il signor e la signora Fabrizi? Ti piacciono?
Li vedo ogni domenica. Gli parlo al telefono quasi ogni giorno.
3 Ti scrivo una lettera. Ti mando le foto di Gianni.
291
292
Key to exercises
La cucina italiana
1 Because cooking is still very different from one region to another.
2 Because they grow it there. 3 Fruit and vegetables. 4 Because it
is not produced there, there are no olives. 5 Butter, from the cows
raised there.
Una ricetta
1 One for pasta – or at least, she implies that by saying she likes
pasta. 2 Oil, garlic, broccoli, macaroni and parmesan cheese. 3 Chilli;
you can also add anchovies or sardines, sultanas and pine nuts.
Unit 10
Vacanze in Sicilia
1 Because he has just come back from holiday. 2 Because he
normally takes his holiday in August. 3 A holiday in Sicily; because
there is so much to see, the countryside is wonderful, the sea spectacular and the food and wine are good. 4 He and his wife are
going to the Gargano peninsula in July. 5 Marco is going to study
English in Ireland and Maria is going on a sailing course in France.
Exercise 1
1 Sono stato (assuming you are a man; for a woman: Sono stata)
2 Sono andato/a 3 Sei andato/a 4 Sono andato/a 5 Siamo partiti
6 sono rimasti
Exercise 2
1 è arrivata 2 è andato 3 sono andati 4 è stato 5 siamo arrivati
6 sono venute
Exercise 3
1 il fratello 2 il nipote/il nipotino 3 la nipote 4 la ﬁglia 5 il cognato
6 la zia 7 la moglie 8 lo zio 9 la sorella 10 il marito
Exercise 4
If you have followed Carlo’s model you can’t have gone wrong.
Exercise 5
1 Sono i tuoi genitori? 2 E’ la tua macchina? 3 Sono le tue sorelle?
4 Sono i tuoi ﬁgli? 5 E’ il tuo ufﬁcio? 6 E’ tua moglie?
Key to exercises
To the hotel acquaintance you would say: 1 Sono i Suoi genitori?
2 E’ la Sua macchina? 3 Sono le Sue sorelle? 4 Sono i Suoi ﬁgli?
5 E’ il Suo ufﬁcio? 6 E’ Sua moglie?
Exercise 6
Only you can answer this but don’t forget you must use avere and
you must either use anni or ne:
Ho quarant’anni/Ne ho quaranta
Il tempo
1 Yes, today. But not yesterday. 2 The weather is about to change.
They hope the change will bring snow.
Exercise 7
1 Cloudy 2 Rough 3 Snow 4 Rain 5 (Thunder)storms
Il clima italiano
1 Fog. 2 Because it is hot and humid. 3 The Adriatic Coast tends
to be colder, the Tyrrhenian milder. 4 The south.
Unit 11
Un giallo
1 Her family. 2 To the market. 3 To put the perishable food she
had bought in the fridge. 4 A white Volvo parked outside the
house, with two men in it. 5 As she came out of the door, they
turned away so that she did not see their faces. 6 Because they are
on holiday abroad.
Exercise 1
Sabato mattina abbiamo fatto la spesa e abbiamo comprato un
vestito nuovo per me. Il pomeriggio siamo andati a una mostra interessante e poi la sera siamo stati a cena da vecchi amici. Domenica
abbiamo fatto una gita con amici . . . Siamo andati in mare e abbiamo
pranzato sulla barca con loro. Abbiamo anche fatto il bagno e preso
il sole. Poi abbiamo cenato in un ristorante sul porto.
293
294
Key to exercises
Exercise 2
1 E’ uscita 2 E’ salita 3 E’ andata 4 E’ uscita 5 E’ andata 6 Si è
seduta 7 Ha ordinato 8 E’ stata raggiunta 9 E’ uscita 10 E’ salita
11 E’ andata 12 ha lasciato
Exercise 3
1 Non ho comprato niente. 2 Non ho letto niente. 3 Non ho ﬁnito
niente/Non ho scritto niente. 4 Non ho mangiato niente. 5 Non ho
fatto niente.
La lettera di un’amica
1 Piero’s marriage, the birth of her grandson and her own retirement. 2 Because it was her birthday and it was also the day her
grandson was born. 3 She works as a consultant and as a writer
and she looks after her grandson while her daughter is working.
Her elderly parents also need help. 4 He has also retired and they
were not used to being together so much. (This second point is
implied rather than said.) Their house is big and each has a study
of his/her own.
Exercise 4
(a) 1 Andando al lavoro, Sergio compra il giornale. 2 Essendo di
Firenze, compra La Nazione. 3 Prendendo un espresso al bar, legge
il giornale. (b) 1 Avendo una casa in campagna, i miei amici
passano spesso il ﬁne settimana lì. 2 Essendo grande il loro
giardino, hanno sempre del lavoro da fare. 3 Avendo un orto,
hanno sempre frutta e verdura fresca a tavola.
Exercise 5
1 Suona il pianoforte da ventiquattro anni. (He has played/been
playing the piano for twenty-four years.) 2 Lavora . . . da quattro
anni. (He has been working as an engineer for four years.)
3 Conosce Antonio da quattordici anni. (He has known Antonio
for fourteen years.) 4 Studia il francese da un po’ più di un anno/da
sedici mesi. (He has been studying French for a little more than a
year/for sixteen months.) 5 Esce con Alessia da tre anni. (He has
been going out with Alessia for three years.) 6 Abita a Milano da
undici anni. (He has been living in Milan for eleven years.)
Exercise 6
Open
Key to exercises
Unit 12
La cugina italiana
1 The daughter of Angela’s aunt, that is Angela’s mother’s elder
sister, who married an Italian and who died some year’s ago. 2
Because her mother had asked her to do so. 3 This is the ﬁrst time
she has done so. 4 A residential area on the outskirts of Turin.
Exercise 1
1 sposato 2 nel 3 maggiore 4 è nato 5 1985 6 ﬁgli 7 nata 8 è morto
9 minore 10 sposato
Ecco il mio appartamento
1 It faces west and gets the setting sun. 2 It’s big enough for people
to eat there. 3 Yes. (When asked if a door leads to a second bathroom she replies: Unfortunately not.) 4 Behind the building, in the
courtyard. 5 A cellar.
Exercise 2
1 Ci abita da due anni. 2 Ci vado se ho tempo. 3 Ci sono stato
due anni fa. 4 Ci traslocano a maggio.
Exercise 3
1 Ne abbiamo quattro. 2 Ne abbiamo tre. 3 Ne abbiamo sette in
tutto. 4 Ne abbiamo uno (solo). 5 Ne abbiamo due – uno davanti
e uno dietro (or Ne abbiamo uno davanti e uno dietro).
Answer for your own home using these structures.
Exercise 4
1 Ce ne sono tre. 2 Ce ne sono due. 3 Ce ne sono quattro. 4 Ce
ne sono due. 5 Si, ce n’è una (piccola).
Exercise 5
1 Vogliamo tornare l’anno prossimo ma non alla stessa villa.
2 L’anno prossimo vogliamo (vorremmo) un panorama sulla valle.
3 L’anno prossimo i nostri amici, i Simpson, vengono con noi, così
abbiamo bisogno di quattro camere. 4 Preferiamo avere due stanze
al pian terreno. 5 Vorremmo due o più bagni l’anno prossimo.
6 Soprattutto vogliamo una casa tranquilla (silenziosa), lontana
dalla strada. Questa casa è (è stata) troppo rumorosa.
295
296
Key to exercises
Exercise 6
Open
Dove vivono gli Italiani
1 Increasingly builders put in two, although sometimes the second
one has a shower but no bathtub. 2 The dining room. 3 People
want to get away from big cities, to the outskirts, to smaller towns
or even to the country. 4 Often it is their grandparents’ house.
5 They went to work in factories. 6 The fact that most families
now have a car.
Unit 13
Nel 1967
1 Blocks of ﬂats 2 Countryside, ﬁelds, a farm with animals
3 A farmhouse 4 It wasn’t made up; it was just mud 5 By tram or
by coach 6 Because they use robots instead
Exercise 1
1 era 2 faceva 3 aveva 4 avevano 5 erano 6 portava 7 andava
8 aveva 9 Sembrava 10 aveva 11 era
Exercise 2
Open
Exercise 3
1 erano 2 era 3 abitavamo 4 lavorava 5 guardavamo 6 avevamo
7 faceva 8 Eravamo 9 aveva 10 mangiavamo 11 portava 12 faceva
13 eravamo 14 ci divertivamo 15 Eravamo
Exercise 4
Open
Exercise 5
1 Leggevo 2 Ci parlavamo 3 ci guardavamo 4 Ero 5 Aspettavo
6 faceva 7 Aiutavo
Key to exercises
Exercise 6
1 Sta facendo la doccia. 2 Sta facendo una besciamella. 3 Sta
leggendo un racconto alla piccola Anna. 4 E’ fuori. Sta facendo la
spesa. 5 Sta dormendo.
L’Italia 1945–1995
1 Democracy. 2 Television, washing machines, plastic, motor cars,
computers. 3 Electricity, drinking water and (ﬂush) lavatory. 4 They
left Italy to look for work in the Americas or in Europe. 5 People
spoke dialects, Italian was not widely used. 6 The ethic of saving
and of sacriﬁce. Today she sees (conspicuous) consumption and
hedonism, the pursuit of (personal) happiness. 7 The political
system has not developed in parallel to the standard of living.
Unit 14
Una distorsione alla caviglia
1 A bit better. 2 They didn’t go to the cinema. Elena sprained her
ankle and they went to the casualty department of the hospital.
3 Putting her foot to the ground.
Exercise 1
1 Viene spesso a trovarci. 2 Mi piacerebbe invitarlo a cena. 3 No,
devo scrivergli oggi./Gli devo scrivere oggi. 4 Posso aiutarLa?/La
posso aiutare? 5 No, spero di andarci quest’anno.
Exercise 2
1 Eccoli 2 Eccolo 3 Eccomi 4 Eccole
Exercise 3
(a) 1 Si diverta 2 Mi faccia un favore 3 Mi dia la chiave, per favore
4 Gli dica di venire domani (b) 1 Divertiti 2 Fammi un favore
3 Dammi la chiave, per piacere 4 Digli di venire domani
Exercise 4
1 Te lo faccio domani 2 Glielo spiego 3 Ce lo portano domani
4 Si, me ne ha parlato sabato
297
298
Key to exercises
Dal medico
1 Sore throat, headache and stomach ache, lack of appetite and a
feeling of extreme tiredness. 2 Inﬂuenza. 3 Some pastilles and
a syrup as well as bed rest, lots to drink (water, weak tea etc., no
alcohol).
Exercise 5
1 Una volta, sì, fumavo, ma ora non fumo più. 2 Una volta, sì,
bevevo molto, ma ora non bevo più. 3 Una volta, sì, mangiavo
carne rossa, ma ora non ne mangio più. 4 Una volta, sì, dormivo
male, ma ora non dormo più male, dormo bene.
Exercise 6
1 Non lo vedo più. (I don’t see him any more.) 2 Non mi scrive
più. (He doesn’t write to me any more.) 3 Non lo aiuto più.
(I don’t help him any more.) 4 Non ci telefoniamo più. (We don’t
telephone each other any more.)
Unit 15
La lotteria
1 Rarely. 2 He would buy a new car and he would take his friends
on a world tour. 3 She would buy a house by the sea, install a
grand piano, take piano lessons and spend her days playing the
piano. She would also invite her friends to one long party.
Exercise 1
1 Cambierebbe casa 2 Comprerebbe una casa con giardino 3 Si
sposerebbe con Anita 4 Imparerebbero a giocare a golf 5 Non
smetterebbe di lavorare
Exercise 2
Open
Exercise 3
1 Non fumo mai 2 Non bevo mai vodka 3 Non vado mai in
discoteca 4 Non compro mai cibi surgelati 5 Non cammino mai a
piedi nudi (Do you remember: Neanche per sogno!, Unit 14)
Key to exercises
Exercise 4
1 Non vado mai al cinema 2 Non vedo nessuno nella piazza 3 A
Maria non piace affatto la musica rock 4 Carlo non ha nessun
amico 5 Non mangio mai al ristorante 6 Il direttore non beve niente
(Or: Il direttore non beve affatto/mica) 7 Non ho niente da fare
8 Non è ancora arrivato il professore
Se fossi in te
1 She doesn’t know about it – Aldo hasn’t dared tell her. 2 Because
she is in her last year of high school and will be going to university in the autumn. 3 She might be able to get leave from her job
and either work in the US or do some further study. They are in
the lead in her ﬁeld in the US. 4 Their English would beneﬁt and
good English is so important nowadays. They might also ﬁnd interesting possibilities for their studies.
Exercise 5
1 Se andassimo a Roma, vedremmo Marco. 2 Se mi scrivesse,
risponderei. 3 Se avessimo i soldi, lo aiuteremmo. 4 Se vincessi la
lotteria, Anna, che cosa faresti? 5 Se vincesse la lotteria, Prof.
Turco, che cosa farebbe? 6 Se sapessero, sarebbero contenti.
Exercise 6
1 Se mi avesse detto che era stanco, l’avrei aiutato. 2 Se non avesse
bevuto tanto, non si sarebbe sentito male. 3 Se non fosse andato
così veloce, non avrebbe avuto l’incidente. 4 Se non fossi andata
alla festa da Giulia, non avrei incontrato Tommaso. 5 Se non avessi
comprato un biglietto della lotteria, non avrei vinto un premio.
I Borghi d.o.c.
1 The old heart of the town must not have more than 2.000 inhabitants and the comune overall must have no more than 15.000;
and it should have an attractive layout and architecturally pleasing
buildings. 2 The last line suggests readers may like to have a
‘fabulous’ weekend visiting (one or more).
Unit 16
Benissimo. Possiamo ﬁrmare
1 Four. 2 15%. 3 10%. 4 A technician from Mr Rossi’s ﬁrm.
5 Visit Angela’s ﬁrm to see the robots in place.
299
300
Key to exercises
Exercise 1
1 Il nostro tecnico arriverà all’aeroporto East Midlands alle 16.00
del 17 luglio/il 17 luglio alle 16. 2 Comincerà l’installazione il 18.
3 Finirà entro la ﬁne del mese. 4 Avrà bisogno di una camera in
un albergo. 5 Sarà possibile prenderlo all’aeroporto? 6 Vi sarà
possibile dargli una macchina per questo periodo? 7 Spiegherà i
robots ai vostri tecnici durante l’installazione.
Exercise 2
1 spedirò 2 ﬁnirò 3 telefonerò 4 ritirerò 5 aiuterò
Business letters
First letter: 1 Ingegner Mancuso. 2 nostro, Vostro (the capital letter
is a courtesy). 3 It accompanies a quotation.
Second letter: 1 Technical help. 2 Because Meccanica Panigale have
already telephoned to ask for help. This is merely a conﬁrmation.
A formal email
1 automatic despatch 2 reference works 3. Joining is absolutely free
and there is no obligation to purchase 4 without images or attachments 5 electronic mailbox (casella postale is a PO box) 6 Without
any cost or obligation.
Un invito
1 Gabriella and her husband will come and collect her from her
hotel. 2 On Saturday morning at 8 a.m.
Exercise 3
1 vista 2 smarriti 3 mangiata? 4 assaggiato
Unit 17
Desidero che mi dia un consiglio
1 The daughter of Angela’s cousin Gabriella. 2 It must be smart
but it must be suitable for important professional occasions as well
as the wedding. She wants something simple, well cut and made
of beautiful fabric.
Key to exercises
Exercise 1
1 venga 2 sia partita 3 possa 4 arrivi 5 abbia comprata 6 sia
andato
Exercise 2
1 faccia i letti 2 pulisca la cucina 3 lavi questi vestiti 4 stiri la
biancheria 5 prepari il pranzo
Exercise 3
Vorrei: 1 una camicetta che sia facile da stirare 2 una maglia che
si possa lavare in (nella) lavatrice 3 una borsa in cui ci sia spazio
(posto) per un libro
Exercise 4
1 capisca 2 abbia 3 sappia 4 sia
Alla boutique
1 Because he can then tell what fabric will be suitable 2 The skirt
is a bit too big 3 She ﬁnds an outﬁt she likes and it doesn’t take
long to do so; she has the rest of the morning free to visit an art
gallery (museum)
Exercise 5
1 andrebbe bene; potrebbe prendere 2 volevo (Mi ero presa is a
pluperfect ‘I had taken’) 3 ha comprato; non ha voluto; abbiamo
risparmiato 4 farà 5 Venga; andiamo; diamoci 6 la può sostituire
(direct object); Le sta molto bene (indirect object); che le piaccia
(indirect object); mi piace (indirect object); mi potete (indirect
object); lo prendo (direct object); diamoci (indirect, reciprocal).
You may also have picked: che ne dice? (‘of it’) 7 gliela possiamo
stringere 8 quello che cerca; quello che volevo; qualcosa che le
piaccia; il vestito che ha comprato
I borghi d.o.c.
Apricale: 1 It is not explicitly said, but the implication is that it is
because you are in a little town that hasn’t changed much since
301
302
Key to exercises
the thirteenth century. 2 The streets are designed for pack animals
(and people) only and are too narrow for cars. (The author knows
of someone who bought a house there; all the building materials
he needed to make the changes he wanted were brought up on a
donkey.)
Dozza: The national competition for painted walls. As the passage
says, many houses have paintings on their (outside) walls. The
competition takes place each year.
Castel di Tora: 1 Because the town is on the site of a Roman town.
It is in fact not far north east of Rome. 2 It is on a promontory,
which drops steeply into the lake. 3 It is an area of ruined castles
and places where brigands used to hide.
Italian–English
glossary
The translations given are those applicable in this book. Where
gender is not clear, i.e. in the case of nouns not ending in -o
or -a, or not accompanied by an adjective, it is indicated. For verbs
in -ire, those that work like capire (i.e. have -isc- in certain tenses)
are indicated with *. Parts of speech (noun, adverb etc.) are indicated only when there might be confusion. Words stressed on the
antepenultimate syllable and those where the learner might be
uncertain of stress (i.e. those ending in -io, -ia) have the vowel of
the stressed syllable underlined.
Abbreviations: n. = noun; sing. = singular; pl. = plural; m. = masculine; f. = feminine; inv. = invariable; fam. = familiar, informal;
adj. = adjective; adv. = adverb; pp. = past participle, prep. =
preposition.
A
a, ad
to, at
abbandonare
abbastanza
abbigliamento
abbinamento
to abandon
fairly
clothing
matching,
combination
subscriber
abundant
a hug; (at end of
letter) love
from
to live
clothes, dress,
suit, outﬁt (can
be used for
abbonato
abbondante
abbraccio
abitare
abito
abituarsi
abituato
accadere
accanto a
accettare
accidenti!
acciottolato
acciuga
accogliere
(pp. accolto)
men’s and
women’s)
to become
accustomed to
used to,
accustomed
to happen
next to,
beside
to accept
good heavens!
surface paved
with cobbles
anchovy
to welcome, to
receive
304
Italian–English glossary
accomodarsi
to make oneself
comfortable
accompagnare
to accompany,
to go with
accordo
agreement
essere
to agree
d’accordo
agreed, OK
accorgersi
to realize, to
notice
aceto
vinegar
acqua
water
acqua minerale spring water
acqua minerale still spring
naturale
water
acqua minerale carbonated
gassata
spring water
acquistare
to purchase
adattarsi
to adapt
adatto/a
suitable (for)
addirittura
even
addormentarsi
to fall asleep
aderire
to join, belong
to (e.g. a
club)
adesso
now
adriatico/a
Adriatic
adulto/a
adult
aereo
aeroplane
aerobica
aerobics
aeroporto
airport
affari (m. pl.)
business
affatto
not at all
affetto
affection
affettuoso/a
affectionate
affollare
to crowd, to
ﬂock to
affollato/a
crowded
affresco
fresco, painting
done on to
fresh plaster
aggiornarsi
to get up to
date, to do a
aggiungere
(pp. aggiunto)
aglio
agnello
agosto
agricoltura
agrumi (m. pl.)
aiutare
aiuto
albergatore,
-trice
albergo
albero
albicocca
alcool (m.)
alcuni/e
al di là di
alimento
allegro/a
allenarsi
allergia
alloggio
allora
allungarsi
almeno
alpino/a
altare (m.)
alterazione (f.)
altitudine (f.)
alto/a
altopiano
altrimenti
altro/a
alzarsi
refresher
course
to add
garlic
lamb
August
agriculture
citrus fruits
to help
help
hotelier
hotel
tree
apricot
alcohol
some
beyond
food
happy
to train
allergy
lodging,
dwelling, place
to live in
then, well then
to stretch
at least
alpine
altar
modiﬁcation
of the
characteristics
of a substance
altitude
tall, high
plateau
otherwise
other, another,
more
to get up
Italian–English glossary
amare
ambasciata
ambasciatore
(m.)
ambiente (m.)
to love
embassy
ambassador
environment,
surroundings
America
America
americano/a
American
amica
friend (f.)
amicizia
friendship
amico
friend (m.)
amministratore managing
delegato
director
ammirare
to admire
amore (m.)
love
ampio/a
spacious
anche
also, too
ancora
still; again; more
non . . . ancora not yet
andare
to go; to suit
andare in
to retire
pensione
andare via
to go away
andarsene
to go away,
to leave
andata
outward journey
andata e ritorno a return ticket
anﬁteatro
amphitheatre
angolo
corner
animale (m.)
animal
animazione (f.) animation
annata
year (see Unit
14)
anniversario
anniversary
anno
year
annoiarsi
to be bored,
to get bored
annunciare
to announce
antenna
aerial
antenna
satellite dish
parabolica
anticipatamente in advance
305
anticipo
antico/a
antipasto
anzi
anziano/a
(n. and adj.)
aperitivo
aperto
appartamento
appassionato/a
appena
appena
possibile
Appennini
(m. pl.)
appetito
appuntamento
appunto
aprile (m.)
aprire
(pp. aperto)
arancia
aranciata
arancione
architetto
architettura
arco
aria
arido
arma
arrabbiarsi
arrivare
arrivederci
advance
old, ancient,
antique
hors d’oeuvre,
starter
on the contrary,
indeed
elderly (adj.);
elderly person
(n.)
aperitif
open
apartment, ﬂat
very fond of,
very keen on
just, scarcely,
hardly
as soon as
possible
the Apennines
appetite
an appointment
precisely,
exactly
April
to open
orange
orangeade
orange
architect
architecture
arch, arc
air
arid
branch, corps,
arm (of a
service)
to get angry
to arrive
goodbye
306
Italian–English glossary
arrivederLa
arrivo
arrosto
arte (f.)
articolo
ascensore (m.)
ascoltare
asfaltato/a
aspettare
aspettativa
assaggiare
assegno
assenza
assistere
assolutamente
astrazione (f.)
attenzione (f.)
attimo
attirare
attività
attore, -ttrice
attraversare
attraverso
attuale
attualmente
augurio
auguri (pl.)
Australia
australiano/a
autenticamente
autoambulanza
autobus (m.)
automatico/a
goodbye (formal,
to one person
only)
arrival
roast
art
article
lift, elevator
to listen to
covered with
asphalt
to wait for
leave of absence
to taste, try
(food, drink)
cheque
absence
to be present at
absolutely, at
all costs
abstraction,
abstract idea
attention
moment
attract
activity
actor, actress
(m.)
to cross
across, through
current, present
at the moment,
at the present
time
(good) wish
best wishes
Australia
Australian
authentically
ambulance
bus
automatic
automobile (f.)
automobilista
motor, car
motorist
(m. or f.)
automobilistico/a motor (as adj.),
to do with the
motor car
autostrada
motorway
autunno
autumn, fall
avanguardia
forefront, lead,
vanguard
avanti!
come in!
avere
to have
avvenimento
event
avvocatessa
(female) lawyer
(but see text)
avvocato
lawyer
azienda
business, ﬁrm
azienda per
tourist ofﬁce
il turismo
azzurro
blue, sky blue
B
bacio
bacin(o)
badare
bagaglio
bagno
balcone (m.)
ballare
bambino
banca
bancarella
banco
bandire*
bar (m.)
barca
barca a vela
barista (m.)
basare
kiss
little kiss
to take notice of,
to look after
baggage,
luggage
bath, bathroom
balcony
to dance
child, baby
bank
stall
bank
to ban
bar, café
boat
sailing boat
barman
to base
Italian–English glossary
base (f.)
a base di
basilica
basilico
basso/a
bastare
battere
battistero
bellezza
bellico/a
bello/a
benché
bene
benissimo
benessere (m.)
benvenuto
dare il
benvenuto
bere (pp. bevuto)
bestiame (m.)
biancheria
bianco/a
biblioteca
biglietteria
biglietto
binario
biondo/a
birra
bisognare
bisogna
bisogno
avere bisogno
di
bistecca
blocchetto
blu
basis
based on
basilica
basil
low
to be enough,
sufﬁcient
to beat
baptistry
beauty
relating to war
lovely, beautiful
although
well
very well (adv.)
well-being,
prosperity
welcome
to welcome
to drink
cattle
linen
white
library
ticket ofﬁce
ticket
platform
fair-haired
beer
to be necessary
it is necessary
need
to need
steak
little block
navy blue,
dark blue
bocca
mouth
in bocca al lupo! good luck!
bollente
boiling
307
bollire
bollito
bolognese
boom (m.)
borgo
borsa
borsa da spesa
bosco
bottiglia
box (m.)
braccio, (pl. le
braccia)
Brasile (m.)
brasiliano/a
bravo/a
breve
brioche (f.)
britannico/a
broccoli (m.)
brutto/a
buonanotte
buonasera
buongiorno
buono/a
burro
busta
buttare
to boil
stewed
in the style
of Bologna
economic boom
a small town
bag
shopping bag
wood
bottle
garage
(integrated
into building
of house)
arm
Brazil
Brazilian
skilful, expert,
good (at doing
something)
short, brief
bun
British
broccoli
ugly, bad
(of weather),
nasty
goodnight
good evening
good morning,
good day
good
butter
envelope
to throw
C
cabina
telefonica
cadere
telephone box
to fall
308
Italian–English glossary
caffè (m.)
calamaro
calcio
calcistico/a
caldo/a
calmo/a
calore (m.)
calza
calzino
cambiare
cambiare aria
cambio
camera
cameriere
camicetta
camicia
camminare
campagna
campanile (m.)
campeggio
campo
Canada (m.)
canadese
canale (m.)
cancello
Cancro
candela
cantare
cantina
caotico/a
capace
capelli (m. pl.)
capire*
capitale (f.)
coffee (black);
café, bar
squid
football, soccer
related to
football,
soccer
hot
calm
warmth
stocking
sock
to change
to have a
change
of scene
change,
exchange
room, bedroom
waiter
blouse
shirt
to walk
country,
countryside
bell tower
campsite
ﬁeld, (mil.)
camp
Canada
Canadian
canal, channel
gate
Cancer
candle
to sing
cellar
chaotic
capable
hair
to understand
capital
cappello
cappotto
cappuccino
carabiniere (m.)
carattere (m.)
caratteristico/a
carciofo
carie (f.)
carino/a
carne (f.)
caro/a
carota
carta
carta di credito
carta d’identità
carta telefonica
cartello
cartolina
casa
casalinga
cascina
casetta
cassa
cassiere/a
castello
catena
cattedrale (f.)
hat
overcoat
white coffee
carabiniere,
member of the
military force
with police
responsibilities
character
characteristic,
typical (of a
place)
globe artichoke
caries, tooth
decay
pretty, cute,
sweet
meat
expensive, dear;
(n.) loved one
carrot
paper, card,
menu
credit card
identity card
phonecard
sign, notice
postcard
house, home
housewife,
homemaker
farm, dairy,
dairy farm
little house,
cottage
cash desk, till;
also soundbox,
(loud)speaker
cashier
castle, palace
chain
cathedral
Italian–English glossary
cattivo/a
cattolico/a
causa
a causa di
cavarsela
caviglia
celeste
cellulare (m.)
cena
centimetro
cento
centrale
centralino
centro
cercare
cerimonia
certo
certo/a
certe persone
che
che!
che? che cosa?
chi?
chiacchierare
chiamare
chiamarsi
chiarimento
chiaro/a
chiave (f.)
chiedere
(pp. chiesto)
chiesa
chilo
bad, naughty
(Roman)
Catholic
cause
because of
to get by, to
manage
ankle
blue, light blue
cellular, mobile
telephone
supper, evening
meal
centimetre
a hundred
central, middle
exchange,
switchboard
centre
to look for,
to seek,
to try
ceremony
certainly; yes,
of course
certain, some
some people
that, which,
who, whom
what!
what?
who?
to chat, chatter
to call
to be called
clariﬁcation
clear
key
to ask
church
kilo
309
chilometro
chissà (chi sa?)
chiudere
(pp. chiuso)
ciao
kilometre
I wonder,
maybe, who
knows?
to close
hello, hi
(informal);
goodbye
(informal)
cibo
food
cielo
sky
ciliegia
cherry
cima
summit
Cina
China
cinema (m.)
cinema
cinese
Chinese
cinque
ﬁve
ciò
that
cioccolata
chocolate
cioè
that is, i.e.
cipolla
onion
circa
about,
approximately
circondare
to surround
circostante
surrounding
città
city, town
cittadina
small town
civiltà
civilization
classe (f.)
class
classico/a
classic, classical
cliente (m. or f.) customer, client
clima (m.)
climate
coda
tail, queue
cogliere
to pick,
(pp.colto)
pluck
cognato/a
brother/sisterin-law
colazione, prima breakfast
colazione
collaborazione
collaboration
(f.)
310
Italian–English glossary
collant (m.)
tights
(a pair of)
collega (m. or f.; colleague
pl. -ghi, -ghe)
collettivo/a
collective
collina
hill
collo
neck
colore (m.)
colour
coltivare
to cultivate
colto/a
educated
come
like, as
come?
how? what?
cominciare
to begin
commerciale
commercial
(adj.)
commercialista accountant
(m. or f.)
commesso/a
shop assistant
comodo/a
comfortable,
convenient
compagnia
company
compleanno
birthday
complesso/a
complex
comportare
imply, involve
comprare
to buy
comprendere
to include,
(pp. compreso) comprise
computer (m.)
computer
comunale
municipal
comune
common
comune (m.)
municipality,
town council
comunicare
to communicate
comunque
however,
anyway
con
with
concordare
to reach an
agreement
condizionale
conditional
(m.)
(mood of
verb)
conducente (m.) driver
conferenza
confermare
confessare
confessarsi
conﬁnante
congratulazioni
(f. pl.)
congresso
conoscere (pp.
conosciuto)
consegna
consegnare
conservare
considerare
considerarsi
consiglio
consistere
consolato
consulente
(m. or f.)
consumo
contadino
contatto
contento/a
continentale
continuare
continuo/a
lecture
to conﬁrm
to confess
to make
confession
(to confess
oneself)
having a
shared border,
neighbouring
congratulations
conference
to know, to
be acquainted
with, to get
to know
delivery,
consignment
to deliver, to
hand over
to conserve,
to preserve
to consider
to consider
oneself
(piece of)
advice
to consist
consulate
consultant
consumption
peasant, farmer,
country
dweller
contact
pleased, happy
continental (adj.)
to continue
continuous,
continual
Italian–English glossary
conto
bill, account
per conto loro
on their own
contorno
vegetables
served with
the meat
course
contratto
contract
contro
against
controllo
check, control
convincere
to convince
(pp. convinto)
coperto
cover (in
restaurant)
coppia
couple
coprire
to cover
(pp. coperto)
coraggio
courage
coraggioso
brave
cordiale
cordial
coricarsi
to go to bed,
to lie down
corpo
body
corrente (f.)
current
corridoio
corridor
corrispondere
to correspond
(pp. corrisposto)
corso
boulevard,
wide street;
course
cortese
courteous, kind
cortesia
courtesy
per cortesia
please
cortile (m.)
courtyard
corto/a
short
cosa
thing
così
thus, so, like
this, in this way
così via
and so on
costa
coast
costare
to cost
costiero/a
coastal
costituire*
to constitute
311
costo
a tutti i costi
costruire*
costruttore,
-ttrice
costume (m.)
cotoletta
cotone (m.)
cotto
credere
crescere
cronaca
cucina
cugino/a
cui
culturale
cuocere
(pp. cotto)
cuoco/a
cuore (m.)
cura
curare
cuscino
cost
at all costs to
construct,
to build
builder
custom
cutlet
cotton
cooked, having
undergone a
cooking
process
(pp. cuocere)
to believe,
think
to grow
news
kitchen, cooking
cousin
which, whom
cultural
to cook
cook
heart
treatment, care
to take care
of, to treat
(medically)
cushion
D
da
dappertutto
dare (pp. dato)
data
dato
davanti (a)
davvero
from, since, to/at
the house of
everywhere
to give
date
datum, pl. data
in front of
really
312
Italian–English glossary
debole
decidere
(pp. deciso)
decimo/a
decisione (f.)
delegazione (f.)
delicato/a
democrazia
denaro
densità
dente (m.)
dentista (m. or f.)
dentro
descrivere
(pp. descritto)
desiderare
destinazione (f.)
destro/a
di
diagonale
diagonalmente
dialetto
dicembre (m.)
dieci
dietro (adv.)
differenza
difficile
difﬁcoltà
di fronte
diffuso/a
dimenticare
diminuire*
di nuovo
diocesano/a
dipendere
dipinto
dire (pp. detto)
diretto
direttore (m.),
-ttrice (f.)
weak
to decide
tenth
decision
delegation
delicate
democracy
money
density
tooth
dentist
inside, within
to describe
to want,
desire, wish
destination
right
of, from,
diagonal
diagonally
dialect
December
ten
behind
difference
difﬁcult
difﬁculty
opposite
widespread
to forget
to decrease
again
diocesan
to depend
painting
to say
direct,
directed
director
diritto
discoteca
disoccupazione
(f.)
dispiacere
mi dispiace
disporre
(pp. disposto)
right; law
discotheque
unemployment
to displease
I am sorry
to have at one’s
disposal, to
arrange
disposizione (f.) disposition
a disposizione
available
disposto/a
arranged
distanza
distance
distorsione (f.)
sprain
disturbare
to disturb,
bother
ditta
ﬁrm, company
diventare
to become
diverso/a
different
divertente
amusing,
enjoyable, fun
divertimento
amusement,
entertainment
divertirsi
to enjoy oneself
doccia
shower
documento
document (used
to mean proof
of identity)
dolce (m.)
pudding
dolce (adj.)
sweet
dolore (m.)
pain
domanda
question
domani
tomorrow
domenica
Sunday
dominante
dominant
dominare
to dominate,
overlook
donna
woman
donna d’affari
businesswoman
dopo
after
dopodomani
the day after
tomorrow
Italian–English glossary
doppio/a
dormire
dottore,
dottoressa
dove
dovere
dritto/a (also)
diritto/a
ducale
due
dunque
duomo
durante
duro/a
double
to sleep
doctor
where
to have to, must
straight
belonging to a
duke or (in
Venice) doge
two
so, therefore
cathedral
during
hard
E
e, ed
eccetera, ecc.
eccezionale
ecco
economia
economico/a
edonismo
educato/a
egregio/a
Egregio
Signore
elefante (m.)
and
et cetera, etc.
exceptional
here is/are;
there is/are
(pointing out);
well then
(starting to
explain
something)
economy,
economics
economical
economic
hedonism,
pursuit of
happiness
polite, well
brought up
distinguished
Dear Sir
elephant
313
elegante
elementare
elementari
(le classi)
elenco
elettricità
elettronica
elettronico/a
eliminare
emergenza
emigrare
emotivamente
emozione (f.)
entrarci
non c’entra
elegant
elementary
elementary
school
list, directory
electricity
electronics
electronic
to eliminate
emergency
to emigrate
emotionally
emotion
to be to do with
he/it is nothing
to do with it
entrare
to enter
entrata
entrance
entro
by (a point in
or a period
of time)
epoca
age, period, era
all’epoca
at the time
errore (m.)
error, mistake
esame (m.)
examination
esattamente
exactly
esatto/a
exact
esclusivamente exclusively
escursione (f.)
excursion
esempio
example
ad esempio
for example
esercizio
exercise
esistere
to exist
esodo
exodus, mass
departure
espresso
black coffee,
express (train,
letter)
essere (pp. stato) to be
essere in giro
to be going
around
est (m.)
east
314
Italian–English glossary
estate (f.)
estendersi
estero/a
all’estero
età
etica
etichetta
etrusco/a
ettaro
etto
Europa
evacuare
evitare
evoluzione (f.)
summer
to extend
foreign
abroad
age
ethic
label, sticker
Etruscan
hectare
100 grammes
Europe
to evacuate
to avoid
evolution
F
fa
fabbrica
faccia
facile
fagiolino
ago
factory
face
easy
French bean,
green bean
fagiolo
bean
fai-da-te
do-it-yourself
falso/a
false
fame (f.)
hunger
avere fame
to be hungry
famiglia
family
familiari
family members,
relations
famoso/a
famous
fango
mud
farcela
to succeed,
to manage,
to make it,
to cope
fare (pp. fatto) to do,
to make
fare il biglietto to buy a
ticket
farmacia
chemist’s
fatica
fatto
fattoria
favore (m.)
per favore
fax (m.)
febbraio
febbre (f.)
fegato
felice
ferie (f. pl.)
fermare
fermata
fermo/a
feroce
ferrovia
festa
ﬁaba
ﬁdanzato/a
figlio/a
figlio unico
ﬁlm (m.)
ﬁnale
ﬁnalmente
ﬁnanziamento
ﬁnanziario/a
ﬁne (f.)
ﬁne settimana
(m. or f.)
ﬁnestra
ﬁnire*
ﬁno a
ﬁore (m.)
ﬁorente
ﬁrma
ﬁrmare
ﬁscale
ﬁssare
drudgery, effort,
physically hard
work
fact
farm
favour
please
fax
February
fever, high
temperature
liver
happy
holidays
to stop
stop
still, not moving
ﬁerce
railway
party
fable, fairy tale
ﬁancé(e)
son/daughter
only son
ﬁlm
ﬁnal
at last, ﬁnally
ﬁnancing
ﬁnancial
end
weekend
window
to end, to ﬁnish
as far as, until
ﬂower
ﬂourishing
signature
to sign
ﬁscal, relating
to tax
to ﬁx, to arrange
Italian–English glossary
ﬁsso
ﬁume (m.)
fondo
fontana
forma
formaggio
formale
formare
formula
fornire*
forno
foro
forse
forte
fortezza
fortuna
fortunato/a
foto (f.)
fra
fra un mese
fragola
francese
Francia
francobollo
fratello
frattempo
nel frattempo
frazione (f.)
freddo/a
frequentare
frequente
fresco/a
fretta
avere fretta
ﬁxed (as
opposed to
movable,
portable)
river
bottom
fountain
shape, form
cheese
formal
to form
formula
to provide
oven
forum
perhaps
strong
fortress
fortune, luck
fortunate, lucky
photo
between, among
in a month’s
time
strawberry
French
France
(postage) stamp
brother
meanwhile
in the
meanwhile
outlying village
cold
to frequent; to
attend
(school)
frequent
fresh, cool
haste
to be in a
hurry
315
friggere
frigorifero,
frigo
frizzante
fronte (f.)
di fronte a
frontiera
frutta
fruttivendolo
fuggire
fumare
fungo
funzionare
fuoco
fuori
furto
futuro
to fry
refrigerator,
fridge
sparkling
(of wine)
forehead
opposite
frontier
fruit
greengrocer,
fruit seller
to ﬂee
to smoke
mushroom
to work,
function
ﬁre
outside
theft, burglary
future
G
gabinetto
galleria
Galles (m.)
gallese
gamba
gara
garage (m.)
garanzia
gelateria
gelato
genealogico/a
albero
genealogico
generalmente
lavatory; surgery
(of a doctor
or dentist)
art gallery
Wales
Welsh
leg
race,
competition
garage
guarantee
ice cream
parlour
ice cream
genealogical
family tree
generally,
usually
316
Italian–English glossary
genere (m.)
in genere
genero
genitori (m. pl.)
gennaio
gente (f. sing.)
gentile
Gentile
Signora
geografia
gerundio
gestire*
gettare
getto
getto
d’inchiostro
già
giacca
giallo/a
giallo, n
Giappone (m.)
giapponese
giardino
giara
ginnasio
giocare
giornalaio/a
giornale (m.)
giornata
giorno
giovane
giovedì (m.)
girare
giro
andare in giro
kind, sort
generally
son-in-law
parents
January
people
kind
Dear Madam
geography
gerund
to manage
to throw
a jet, a spout
ink-jet
already
jacket
yellow
a detective story
Japan
Japanese
garden
terracotta jar for
storage of oil
high school (the
ﬁrst two years
of the classical
liceo)
to play (a game)
newspaper seller
newspaper
day (see Unit 14)
day
young
Thursday
to turn, to go
around, to
circulate
circuit, circle,
tour
to go around
gita
gitante
(m. or f.)
giù
giugno
giungere
(pp. giunto)
giusto/a
gnocchi (m. pl.)
godere
gola
golf (m.)
golfo
gondola
gonna
governo
grammo
grana
Gran Bretagna
granché
grande
grandine (f.)
grattare
gratuito/a
grazie
greco/a
grigio/a
griglia
grosso/a
guardare
excursion, trip,
outing
tripper, person
on an outing
down
June
arrive, reach
right, correct,
just
gnocchi,
dumplings
to enjoy
throat
golf; cardigan
gulf, bay
gondola
skirt
government
gramme
a type of hard
cheese (slightly
granular in
texture);
parmesan
Great Britain
a lot (usually
used in
negative
sentences)
big, large
hail
to scratch
free
thanks, thank
you
Greek
grey
grill
big
to look, to
watch
Italian–English glossary
Guardia di
Finanza
guarire*
guerra
guida (f. even
if male)
guidare
tax police
to cure, to heal,
to get better
war
guide, guidebook
imparare
impegnativo/a
impegnato/a
impegno
imperfetto
imperiale
impermeabile
(m.)
impianto
impiegato
importante
importare
non importa
impossibile
impresa
inattivo/a
incantevole
to guide; to drive
(a vehicle)
I
idea
identità
ieri
illustrato/a
immaginare
immagine (f.)
immensamente
317
idea
identity
yesterday
illustrated
to imagine
image
immensely,
enormously
to learn
exacting,
demanding;
(of price)
high
engaged, busy,
committed
commitment,
pledge
imperfect
imperial
raincoat
plant,
machinery,
equipment
employee
important
to matter, to be
important
it doesn’t
matter
incendio
incertezza
incidente (m.)
includere
(pp. incluso)
incontro
indicatore
indietro
indirizzo
indiscutibile
indomani
industria
industriale
industrializzazione
in effetti
infatti
infelice
infermiere/a
inﬁne
inﬁnito/a
inﬁnito (n.)
inﬁsso
inﬂuenza
inﬂuire*
informare
informarsi
impossible
enterprise,
business
inactive,
dormant
(of volcano)
enchanting,
delightful,
charming
ﬁre
uncertainty
accident
to include
meeting
indicator
back; (of clock,
watch) slow
address
unquestionable,
undisputable
the next day
industry
industrial
industrialization
in fact
yes, indeed
unhappy
nurse
ﬁnally
inﬁnite;
innumerable
inﬁnitive
window
frame
inﬂuence;
inﬂuenza
to inﬂuence
to inform
to inform
oneself
318
Italian–English glossary
informazione
(m.)
ingegnere (m.)
Inghilterra
ingiallito/a
inglese
iniziativa
inizio
innamorato/a
inoltre
inquinamento
in realtà
insalata
insegna
insegnante
(m. or f.)
inserire*
information
engineer
England
yellowed
English
initiative
start, beginning
in love
besides,
furthermore,
moreover
pollution
in fact
salad
sign
teacher
to insert, to
settle, to ﬁt in
insieme
together
insistere
to insist
insolitamente
unusually
insolito/a
unusual
insomma
in short
installare
to install
installazione (f.) installation
intanto
meanwhile
intensamente
intensively,
strongly
interamente
entirely
interessante
interesting
interessarsi
to be interested
in
interesse (m.)
interest
interno
interior;
(telephone)
extension
interno/a
internal
intero/a
whole
interrogativo
question,
problem
interrompere
(pp. interrotto)
intervallo
intervento
inteso
to interrupt
interval, break
intervention
understood,
agreed
intimità
intimacy
intorno (adv.)
around
intorno a (prep.) round, around
intuizione (f.)
intuition
inutile
useless
invece
instead, on the
other hand
inventare
to invent
inverno
winter
investigatore
investigator,
(m.)
detective
inviare
to send
invio
despatch,
sending
invitare
to invite
invito
invitation
io
I
Irlanda
Ireland
irlandese
Irish
irrigare
to irrigate
iscriversi
to enrol
iscrizione (f.)
enrolment,
joining (a club,
a service)
isola
island
isolare
to isolate
istruito/a
educated
italiano/a
Italian
L
là
lago
lamentarsi
lampadario
there
lake
to complain
chandelier,
candleholder
Italian–English glossary
lana
largo
lasagne (f. pl.)
lasciare
latitudine (f.)
lato
latte (m.)
lavanderia
lavarsi
lavatrice (f.)
lavorare
lavoro
legge(f.)
leggere (pp.
letto)
leggero/a
legno
lei
Lei
lentamente
lento/a
leone (m.)
lettera
letto
lettura
lezione (f.)
lì
libero/a
libertà
libreria
libro
liceo
lieto/a
limone (m.)
linea
lingua
linguaggio
lirico/a
musica lirica
wool
wide
pasta in ﬂat
sheets
to leave
latitude
side
milk
utility room,
laundry
to wash (oneself)
washing machine
to work
work, job
law
to read
light
wood
she, her
you (formal)
slowly
slow
lion
letter
bed
reading
lesson
there
free
freedom, liberty
bookshop
book
high school
happy
lemon
line
tongue,
language
language
lyric
opera
319
litro
locale (m.)
locale
lombardo/a
lontano/a
(adj. and adv.)
lotteria
luglio
lui
luminoso/a
lunedì (m.)
lungo/a
lungo
luogo
lupo
in bocca
al lupo!
litre
room,
establishment,
premises
local
Lombard, of
Lombardy
far
lottery
July
he, him
light
Monday
long
along
place
wolf
good luck!
M
ma
macché
but
you’re joking!
what nonsense!
maccheroni
maccheroni,
(m. pl.)
macaroni
(short pasta
tubes)
macchina
car,
automobile
macchinetta
little machine
macellaio
butcher
macerie (f. pl.) rubble, ruins
madre (f.)
mother
madre-lingua (f.) mother tongue
magari
perhaps; would
that it were
so!
maggio
May
maggiorana
marjoram
320
Italian–English glossary
maggiore
fratello
maggiore
maglia
magniﬁco/a
magro/a
mai
maiale (m.)
malattia
male
fare male
meno male
malessere (m.)
malsano/a
maltempo
mamma
mancare
mangiare
mano (f.)
(pl. mani)
mantenere
manzo
marchio
mare (m.)
marito
marrone
marsala
bigger, major
elder brother
sweater
magniﬁcent,
wonderful,
splendid
thin, lean,
non-oily
(of ﬁsh)
never
pig, pork
illness
bad
to hurt
fortunately,
luckily
malaise,
indisposition;
bad condition
ﬁnancially
unhealthy,
morbid
bad weather
mummy, mom
to be missing
to eat
hand
to maintain
beef
symbol or mark,
indicating
where a
product comes
from
sea
husband
brown
dessert wine
from Marsala
in Sicily
martedì (m.)
marzo
massa
di massa
massimo/a
master (m.)
matrimoniale
matrimonio
mattinata
mattino/mattina
maturità
medicina
medico
medievale
medio/a
meglio (adv.)
mela
melanzana
melone (m.)
membro
memoria
meno
mentre
meraviglia
meraviglioso/a
mercato
mercoledì (m.)
merenda
meridionale
meritare
mescolare
Tuesday
March
mass
for the masses
greatest, biggest
a master’s
degree,
particularly
MBA
matrimonial, (of
bed) double
wedding
morning (see
Unit 14)
morning
maturity; high
school diploma
medicine
doctor
mediaeval
medium(-sized),
middle,
average
better
apple
aubergine,
eggplant
melon
member
memory
less, minus
while
wonder, marvel
marvellous
market
Wednesday
snack (in the
afternoon, for
children)
southern
to deserve
to mix
Italian–English glossary
mese (m.)
messaggio
Messico
messicano/a
meta
metà
metro
metterci
mettere
(pp. messo)
mezzanotte (m.)
mezzo
in mezzo a
month
message
Mexico
Mexican
destination
half
metre
(of time) to take
to put
midnight
half, middle
in the middle
of
mezzogiorno
noon, midday;
south; southern
Italy
mica
not at all
migliorare
to improve
migliore, il/la
the best
migliore (adj.)
better
milione (m.)
million
milite ignoto
unknown soldier
mille (m.)
a thousand
millimetro
millimetre
minestra
soup; the pasta
course
minimo/a
least
ministro
minister
minore
smaller, minor
il/la minore
the smallest
minuto
minute
mio/a
my
miracolo
miracle
misero/a
poor, wretched,
paltry
misteriosamente mysteriously
mistero
mystery
misura
size
mite
mild
modello
model
modernizzare
to modernize
321
moderno/a
modo
in ogni modo
modulo
moglie (f.)
molto (adv.)
molto/a (adj.)
momento
mondiale (adj.)
la seconda
guerra
mondiale
mondo
moneta
montagna
monte (m.)
monumento
morbido/a
morboso/a
morire
(pp. morto)
mosaico
mosso/a
mostra
mostrare
motivo
mucca
multa
municipio
muscolo
museo
musica
musica lirica
modern
way; mood
anyway, in any
case
form
wife
very, very much
many, much
moment, time
world
the Second
World War
world
coin
mountain
mount, mountain
monument
soft
morbid
to die
mosaic
(of sea) rough
exhibition
to show
reason
cow
ﬁne
town hall
muscle
museum, gallery
music
opera
N
nascere (pp. nato) to be born
nascita
birth
naso
nose
Natale (m.)
Christmas
naturale
natural
322
Italian–English glossary
naturalmente
naturally,
of course
nazionale
national
neanche
not even
nebbia
fog
necessario/a
necessary
negoziante (m.) shopkeeper,
tradesman
negozio
shop
nemmeno
not even
neozelandese
New Zealander,
from New
Zealand
neppure
not even
nero/a
black
nervi (m. pl.)
nerves
nessuno/a
none, not one
neve (f.)
snow
nevicare
to snow
nevralgia
neuralgia
niente
nothing
nipote (m. or f.) nephew, niece;
grandson,
granddaughter
nipotino/a
little nephew/
niece;
grandson/
granddaughter
no
no
noce (f.)
walnut
noi
we
nome (m.)
name
non
not
nonna
grandmother
nonno
grandfather
nono/a
ninth
nord (m.)
north
normale
normal
nostrano/a
local, locally
produced
nostro/a
our
notare
to note, notice
notevole
notizia
noto
notte (f.)
nove
novembre (m.)
novità
nudo/a
nulla
numero
numeroso/a
nuora
Nuova Zelanda
nuovo/a
di nuovo
nuvoloso/a
notable,
signiﬁcant,
considerable
piece of news
known, wellknown
night
nine
November
innovation,
novelty,
newness
naked, bare
nothing
number
numerous, many
daughter-in-law
New Zealand
new
again
cloudy
O
o
obliterare
occasione (f.)
occhio
(pl. occhi)
occidentale
occorrere
occorre
occupare
occuparsi (di)
occupato/a
odierno/a
odori (m. pl.)
offerta
or
obliterate, punch
(a ticket)
opportunity,
bargain;
occasion
eye
western
to be necessary
it is necessary
to occupy
to look after,
take care of
occupied, busy
of today
herbs
offer
Italian–English glossary
offrire
(pp. offerto)
oggetto
oggi
ogni
ognuno/a
Olanda
olandese
olio
oliva
oltre
opera
operaio/a
opinione (f.)
opportunità
oppure
ora (adv.)
ora (n.)
orario
orchestrina
ordinare
ordine (m.)
orecchio
organizzare
orientale
ormai
oro
orologio
orto
oscillazione (f.)
ospedale (m.)
to offer
object, purpose;
(at head of
letter) re
today
every, each
everyone, each
person
Holland (more
correctly:
Paesi Bassi)
Dutch
oil
olive
beyond
work; opera
workman,
worker
opinion
opportunity
or, or else
now
hour, time
timetable,
schedule
small orchestra
(as in a café
or restaurant)
to order
order
ear
to organize
eastern
now
gold
clock, watch
kitchen garden,
vegetable
garden
oscillation
hospital
323
ospitalità
ottavo/a
ottimo/a
otto
ottobre (m.)
ovest (m.)
hospitality
eighth
very good,
excellent
eight
October
west
P
pace (f.)
padano/a
padre (m.)
paesaggio
paese (m.)
pagamento
pagare
paio (m.; pl.
paia, f.)
palazzo
palestra
pane (m.)
panino
panna
panorama
pantaloni
(m. pl.)
parcheggiare
parcheggio
parco
parecchio/a
parente
(m. or f.)
peace
relating to the
valley/plain of
the river Po
father
scenery,
countryside
country; village
payment
to pay
pair
palace, large
building, block
of ﬂats/
apartments
gymnasium
bread
bread roll
cream
view (m. inv.)
trousers
to park
a parking space,
a car park
park
a lot, a good
deal, (pl.)
several
relation
324
Italian–English glossary
parere
(pp. parso)
pari a
parlare
parmigiano
parola
parte (f.)
la maggior
parte
partenza
participio
particolare
particolarmente
partire
partita
Pasqua
passaporto
passare
passato
passato/a
passato
prossimo
passato remoto
passeggiare
passeggiata
passo
pasta
pastiglia
pasto
patata
patria
patrimonio
pausa
paziente
to seem
equal to
to talk, to speak
Parmesan cheese
word
part, side
the majority
departure
participle
particular
particularly
to set off, leave,
depart
match (sport)
Easter
passport
to pass
sieved or
liquidized soup
past
near past
(tense), past
perfect
remote past
(tense), past
absolute, past
historic
to go for a walk
walk, stroll
step
pastry, pasta
(spaghetti etc.)
pastille
meal
potato
native land,
fatherland
heritage
pause, break
patient
pazienza
avere
pazienza
pazienza!
peccato (che
peccato)
pecora
pecorino
pedonale
peggio (adv.)
peggiore (adj.)
pelle (f.)
pendente
pendice (f.)
penisola
penna
pensare
pensiero
pensione (f.)
pepe (m.)
peperoncino
peperone (m.)
per
per cortesia
per favore
per piacere
pera
perché
perciò
percorso
perdere
(pp. perduto
or perso)
perfetto/a
perﬁno (adv.)
patience
to be patient
never mind!
what a pity
sheep, ewe
cheese made
from ewe’s
milk
reserved for
pedestrians
worse
worse
leather, skin
leaning, hanging
slope
peninsula
pen
to think
thought
pension
pepper
chilli
(green or red)
pepper
for
please
please
please
pear
why; because;
so that
(+ subjunctive)
therefore
journey, distance
travelled
to lose
perfect
even
Italian–English glossary
pericoloso/a
periferia
dangerous
suburbs,
outskirts
period
to allow, permit
periodo
permettere
(pp. permesso)
però
however, but
persona
person
personaggio
personage,
character
personale
personnel (n.);
(n. and adj.)
personal (adj.)
pesante
heavy
pesca
peach
pescatore (m.)
ﬁsherman
pesce (m.)
ﬁsh
pessimo
very bad
pettinarsi
to comb, do
one’s hair
pezzo
piece
piacere (m.)
pleasure
per piacere
please
piacere
to be pleasing
mi piace
I like, it is
pleasing
to me
piacevole
pleasant,
pleasing
piangere
to weep, to cry
(pp. pianto)
piano (adv.)
slowly, carefully,
softly
piano
ﬂoor
al secondo
on the second
piano
ﬂoor
pianoforte (m.) piano
pianoforte a
grand piano
coda
pianta
plan
pian terreno
ground ﬂoor
pianura
plain
piatto
dish, plate
325
piazza
piazzale (m.)
piazzetta
piccante
piccolo/a
piede (m.)
a piedi
pieno/a
pilota
pinolo
pioggia
piovere
pipa
pisello
pittore, -ttrice
pittoresco/a
più
non . . . più
piuttosto
pizzeria
plastica
poco, un po’
poi
poiché
polenta
politica
politico/a
polizia
pollo
polmone (m.)
polso
pomeriggio
pomodoro
pompelmo
ponte (m.)
popolare
square
large square
little square
sharp tasting,
piquant
small, little
foot
on foot
full
pilot
pine nut
rain
to rain
pipe
pea
painter
picturesque
more, most, plus
no longer
rather
pizzeria, pizza
restaurant
plastic
a little bit
next, then
since, as
maize ﬂour
porridge,
polenta
politics
political
police
chicken
lung
wrist
afternoon
tomato
grapefruit
bridge
popular,
belonging to
the people
326
Italian–English glossary
popolazione (f.) population
popolo
the people
porcino
cèpe (type of
mushroom)
porgere (saluti) to offer
(greetings) in a
formal letter
porta
door; (in airport)
gate
porta-ﬁnestra
French window
portare
carry, take,
bring, wear
portatile
portable; (of
computer)
laptop
portico
portico,
arcade
posizione (f.)
position
possedere
to possess
possibile
possible
possibilità
possibility
posta
post, mail
posto
place; space,
room
potabile
potable,
drinkable
potente
powerful; as a
noun (m.)
power
potenza
power
potere
to be able to
povero/a
poor
pranzo
lunch, midday
meal
pratica
practice
praticante
practising
pratico/a
practical
prato
meadow, grassy
ﬁeld
preciso/a
precise
preferire*
to prefer
preferito/a
favourite
preﬁsso
telephone area/
country code
pregare
to pray, ask
prego
go ahead; don’t
mention it
premio
prize
prendere
to take, to have
(pp. preso)
(coffee, beer,
etc.)
prenotare
to book, reserve
prenotazione (m.)booking
preoccuparsi
to worry
preparare
to prepare
prepararsi
to get (oneself)
ready
presentare
to present,
introduce
presente
present; (in
formal letter)
this letter
presidente
presidente
presidente del
prime minister
consiglio
pressione (f.)
pressure
presto (adv.)
soon, early,
quickly
preventivo/a
preventive
preventivo
estimate, (price)
quotation
previsione (f.)
forecast
prezzemolo
parsley
prezzo
price
prigioniero/a
prisoner
prima (di)
before
(prep.)
prima (adv.)
before, earlier
prima colazione breakfast
primavera
spring
primo/a
ﬁrst
primo
(in meal) the
ﬁrst (pasta)
course
Italian–English glossary
principale
privato/a
probabile
probabilmente
problema
(m.; pl. -i)
prodotto
produrre
(pp. prodotto)
professionale
professore
principal
private
probable
probably
problem
product, produce
to produce
professional
teacher
(secondary
school or
university)
(female) teacher
perfume, scent
project, plan
to promise
professoressa
profumo
progetto
promettere
(pp. promesso)
pronto
hello (answering
the telephone)
pronto/a
ready
pronto soccorso accident and
emergency
(hospital),
ﬁrst aid
pronunciare
to pronounce
proporre
to propose
proprietario/a
owner
proprio (adv.)
really, right,
precisely
proprio/a
own
prosciutto
ham
prosciutto cotto cooked ham
prosciutto crudo cured ham,
Parma ham
proseguire
to continue
prospero/a
prosperous
prossimo/a
next
provare
to try
proverbio
proverb
provincia
province
327
provvedere
prugna
pubblicità
pubblico/a
pulire*
pulito/a
pullman (m.)
punto
può darsi
pure
purtroppo
to see to, to take
care of, make
provision for
plum
advertising,
publicity
public
to clean
clean
motor coach
point
maybe, perhaps
by all means,
also; even,
yet
unfortunately
Q
qua
quadrato/a
qualche cosa,
qualcosa
qualche
qualcuno/a
quale
qualsiasi
qualunque
quando
quanto/a
quartiere (m.)
quarto/a
quarto
quasi
quattro
quello/a
questione (f.)
questo/a
qui
here
squared
something
some
someone
which
any (it doesn’t
matter which)
any (it doesn’t
matter which)
when
how much,
how many
district
fourth
quarter
almost
four
that, that one
question
this
here
328
Italian–English glossary
quinto/a
quotidiano/a
ﬁfth
daily
R
raccontare
racconto
radio (f.)
radiografia
radiolina
to tell, relate
story
radio
X-ray
little, portable
radio
rafforzare
to strengthen
raffreddore (m.) cold
ragazza
girl, girlfriend
ragazzo
boy, boyfriend
raggiungere
to reach, to join
(pp. raggiunto)
ragione (f.)
reason
avere ragione
to be right
rallentare
to slow down, to
reduce speed
rapidamente
fast, quickly
rapido
express, fast
train
rapido/a
fast
raramente
rarely
re (m.)
king
reale
royal
realtà
reality
in realtà
in fact
recente
recent
reddito pro
per capita
capite
income
regalo
present
regione (f.)
region
regolare
regular
regolarità
regularity
regolarmente
regularly
relativamente
relatively
religioso/a
religious
rendersi conto
to realize
rene (m.)
kidney
residenza
residenziale
resistere
respirare
responsabile
restante (m.)
restare
restauro
resti (m. pl.)
restituire*
resto
riaprire
ricchezza
ricco/a
ricetta
ricevere
ricevuta
richiamare
richiedere
(pp. richiesto)
richiesta
ricordare
residence
residential
to resist
to breathe
responsible
remainder
to remain
restoration
remains
to give back
remainder
to reopen
wealth
rich
recipe;
prescription
receive
receipt
call back, call
again
to request
request
to remember,
recall
ricoverare
to admit to
hospital
ridere (pp. riso) to laugh
ridurre
to reduce
(pp. ridotto)
riempire
to ﬁll
riforma
reform
rilassarsi
to relax
rimandare
to send back
rimanere
to remain
(pp. rimasto)
rincorrere
to run around
looking for
ringraziare
to thank
riparare
to repair
riparazione (f.) repair
riposante
restful
Italian–English glossary
riposarsi
ripostiglio
riprendersi
(pp. ripreso)
risaia
rischio
rischioso/a
riso
risolvere
(pp. risolto)
Risorgimento
risparmiare
risparmio
rispondere
(pp. risposto)
risposta
ristorante (m.)
ristoratore/trice
ritardo
ritirare
ritorno
ritrovarsi
riunione (f.)
riuscire
riva
rivedere
rivelare
rivista
robot (m.)
robotizzato/a
romanico/a
romano/a
romantico/a
rosa (inv.)
rosmarino
rosso/a
to rest
boxroom,
lumber-room
to recover
rice ﬁeld,
paddy ﬁeld
risk
risky
rice
to resolve
revival,
Risorgimento
to save
saving, thrift
to answer
answer
restaurant
restorative
lateness,
delay
to withdraw;
to collect
return
to meet
meeting
to succeed
shore, bank
to see again
to reveal
magazine
robot
robotized,
automated
romanesque
Roman
romantic
pink
rosemary
red
329
rudere (m.)
rumore (m.)
rumoroso/a
rurale
russo/a
ruin
noise
noisy
rural
Russian
S
sabato
sacrificio
sala
sala da ballo
sala d’attesa
sala operatoria
Saturday
sacriﬁce
hall, room
dance hall
waiting room
operating
theatre
salario
salary
salato/a
salty, salted
saldatura
welding
sale (m.)
salt
saletta
small room
salire
to go up, to
get on/into
(vehicle)
salmone (m.)
salmon
salone (m.)
hall, large
room
saltare
to jump
salutare
to say hello to,
to greet
salute (f.)
health
saluto
greeting
distinti saluti
yours faithfully
salvia
sage
sandalo
sandal
sangue (m.)
blood
sanitario/a
related to
health
sano/a
healthy
santo (san, sant’) saint
sapere
to know
saporito/a
tasty
Sardegna
Sardinia
330
Italian–English glossary
sardina
sbagliare
sbarrato
scala
scaloppina
scappare
scarpa
scegliere
(pp. scelto)
scelta
scemo/a
scendere
(pp. sceso)
scheda
schiena
sci (m.)
sciare
sciatore,
sciatrice
sciroppo
scolare
scontato/a
sconto
scontrino
scoperta
scopo
scoprire
(pp. scoperto)
scorso/a
Scozia
scozzese
scrittore, -ttrice
scrivere
(pp. scritto)
sardine
to make a
mistake
blocked,
barricaded
staircase
escalope
to dash (away),
to escape, to
run away
shoe
to choose
choice
silly
to go down,
to come down,
to get off,
out of (vehicle)
(index) card
back
skiing, ski
to ski
skier
syrup, linctus
to strain, drain
discounted, with
a discount
discount
till receipt,
check
discovery
aim
to discover,
uncover
last
Scotland
Scottish
writer
to write
scultura
scuola
scuro/a
scusare
scusarsi
sdraiarsi
se
secolo
secondo
secondo/a
secondo me,
te, lui ecc.
sedersi
segnalare
segretario/a
segreteria
telefonica
seguire
sei
semaforo
sembrare
seminterrato
semplice
semplicemente
sempliﬁcato
sempre
sempre dritto
sensato
sensibile
senso
sentimentale
sculpture
school
dark
to excuse
to excuse
oneself, to
apologize
to lie down
if
century
second (in a
meal) the main
(ﬁsh/meat)
course
second
according to me,
you, him etc.
to sit
to point out, to
make known
secretary
telephone
answering
machine
to follow
six
trafﬁc light
to seem
basement, semibasement
simple
simply
simpliﬁed
always
straight on
sensible
sensitive
sense, feeling,
meaning
sentimental,
related to the
feelings
Italian–English glossary
sentire
senza
senz’altro
separare
sera
serata
sereno/a
serietà
serie (f.)
(pl. le serie)
servire
servizio
doppi servizi
servizio sanitario
sesto/a
seta
sete (f.)
sette
settembre (m.)
settentrionale
settimana
settimo/a
settore (m.)
sgabello
si
sì
siccome
Sicilia
siciliano/a
sicuro/a
to feel, to hear,
to listen
without
of course,
without fail
to separate
evening
evening (see
Unit 14)
cloudless, clear
seriousness, (for
a shopkeeper,
trustworthiness)
division
to serve
service
two bathrooms
health service
sixth
silk
thirst
seven
September
northern
week
seventh
sector
stool
(indef. pr.) one,
people, they;
(reﬂ. pr.)
himself,
herself,
themselves
yes
since, for the
reason that
Sicily
Sicilian
safe, certain,
sure, secure
331
signora
signore
signorina
silenzio
simile
simpatico/a
sindacato
sindaco
singolo/a
sinistra
sintomo
sistema
(m.; pl. -i)
smarrire*
smettere
soccorso
Mrs, madam,
lady
Mr, sir,
gentleman,
man
Miss, young
lady
silence
similar
likeable, nice
trade union
mayor
single
left
symptom
system
to mislay, lose
to stop
help, aid,
assistance
sociale
social
società
society, company
socio
member
soggiorno
living room
sogliola
sole (ﬁsh)
sognare
to dream
sogno
dream
neanche per
never in 1,000
sogno
years
soldi (m. pl.)
money
sole (m.)
sun
solito/a
usual
di solito
usually
solo (adv.)
only
solo/a (adj.)
alone, single,
only one
soltanto (adv.) only
soluzione (f.)
solution
sondaggio
sounding, survey,
opinion poll
sonno
sleep
332
Italian–English glossary
sopra
soprattutto
sorella
sorprendente
sorprendere
(pp. sorpreso)
sorridere
sosta
sostituire*
above
especially,
above all
sister
surprising
to surprise
to smile
pause, stop
to substitute, to
put something
in place of
under
to submit
sotto
sottoporre
(pp. sottoposto)
sottosviluppato/a underdeveloped
spaghetti (m. pl.) spaghetti
Spagna
Spain
spagnolo/a
Spanish
spago
string
spalla
shoulder
spasso
recreation
andare a
to go for a
spasso
walk
spazio
space
spazioso/a
spacious
spazzare
to sweep
speciale
special
speciﬁco/a
speciﬁc
spedire*
to send
spendere
to spend
(pp. speso)
speranza
hope
sperare
to hope
spesa
expense,
shopping
fare la spesa
to go shopping
spesso
often
spettabile
Messrs (formal
way of
addressing ﬁrm
in letters)
spettacolare
spettacolo
spiaggia
spiegare
spinaci (m. pl.)
spirito
spogliatoio
sporco/a
sport (m.)
sportivo/a
sposare
sposarsi
sposato/a
spostare
spremuta
spumante (m.)
spuntino
squadra
stabile
stadio
stagione (f.)
stamattina
(questa
mattina)
stampante (f.)
stanco/a
stanotte
(questa notte)
stanza
stare
spectacular
show
beach
to explain
spinach
spirit
changing
room
dirty
sport
sporting, fond
of sports
to marry
to get married
married
to move,
displace
freshly squeezed
citrus fruit
sparkling
(of wine),
champagnetype
snack
team
stable (adj.)
stadium
season
this morning
printer (machine
for printing)
tired
tonight, this
night, last
night
room
to stay,
to remain;
+ inﬁnitive
to be about to
Italian–English glossary
stasera
(questa sera)
stato
Stati Uniti
(m. pl.)
stavolta (questa
volta)
stazione (f.)
stella
stesso/a
stile (m.)
stimolante
stimolare
stivale (m.)
stomaco
storia
storico/a
strada
stradale
incidente
stradale
stradina
straniero/a
strano/a
stretto/a
stringere
(pp. stretto)
studente (m.)
studentessa
studiare
studio
(pl. gli studî)
stufato
su
subito
succedere
(pp. successo)
successo
succo
this evening
state
United States
this time
station
star
same
style
stimulating
to stimulate
boot
stomach
history
historical
street, road
related to the
roads
road accident
little street,
lane
foreigner
strange
narrow
to squeeze, take
in (clothing)
student
female student
to study
study
stew
on, upon, up
immediately,
suddenly
to happen
success
juice
333
sud (m.)
Sud Africa
sudafricano/a
suggerimento
suggerire*
sugo
suo/a
suocero/a
suonare
superficie (f.)
supermercato
superscontato
supplemento
surgelato/a
susina
sveglia
svegliarsi
sviluppo
Svizzera
svizzero/a
south
South Africa
South African
suggestion
to suggest
gravy, sauce,
juice
his, her, your
father-/motherin-law
to play (a
musical
instrument);
to ring
surface
supermarket
with a big
discount
supplement
(deep) frozen
plum
alarm clock
to wake up
development
Switzerland
Swiss
T
tabaccaio/a
tobacconist
tacchino
turkey
tagliatelle (f. pl.) pasta in ﬂat
ribbons
taglio
cut
tailleur (m.)
(woman’s) suit
tanto/a
so much, (pl.)
so many,
(+ adj.) so
tardare
to be late
tardi
late
tariffa
tariff, fare
tartufo
trufﬂe
334
Italian–English glossary
tasca
tascabile
tassa
tasso
tastiera
tavernetta
pocket
pocket (adj.)
tax
rate, level
keyboard
party room (in
basement of
modern house)
tavola, tavolo
table
tavola calda
snack bar
tavolino
small table
taxi (also: tassì) taxi
tè/the (m.)
tea
teatro
theatre
tecnico
technician
tecnico/a
technical
tedesco/a
German
telefonare
to telephone
telefonata
telephone call
telefonicamente by telephone
telefonino
mobile
telephone
telefono
telephone
teleselezione (f.) direct dialling
(long distance)
televisione (f.)
television
temperatura
temperature
tempestivain good time
mente
tempio
temple
tempo
time, weather
tempo libero
free, spare time
temporale (m.) storm
tenere
to hold, to keep
tennis (m.)
tennis
terra
earth, land,
ground
terrazzo
terrace, balcony
terreno
land, ground
territorio
territory
terzo/a
third
tessuto
fabric, cloth
testa
tifoso/a
tilt (in tilt)
timo
tinello
tipico/a
toast (m.)
togliere
(pp. tolto)
tomba
tornare
head
fan (sport)
upside down,
in confusion
thyme
small dining
room; kitchendiner; scullery
typical
toasted sandwich
to remove
tomb
to return, to
come back
torre (f.)
tower
torta
cake
tortellini (m. pl.) pasta with meat
stufﬁng
torto, avere
to be wrong
tra
between, among
traduzione (f.)
translation
trafﬁco
trafﬁc
tram (m.)
tram
tramonto
sunset
tranquillo/a
quiet
transizione (f.)
transition
trappola
trap
traslocare
to move house
trattoria
restaurant
travellers
travellers’
cheque
cheque
(m. inv.)
tre
three
treno
train
triste
sad
troppo
too
trota
trout
trovare
to ﬁnd
andare a
to go and see
trovare
(a person)
trovarsi
to be situated
Italian–English glossary
tu
you (fam.)
tuo/a
your
tuono
thunder
turismo
tourism
turista (m. or f.) tourist
turistico/a
touristic
tutto/a
all
TV, tivù (f.)
TV
U
uccidere
(pp. ucciso)
ufficio
ufficio postale
ultimo/a
umano/a
umidità
umido/a
un, un’, uno,
una
unico/a
uniﬁcazione (f.)
università
universitario/a
uomo
(pl. uomini)
uomo d’affari
uovo (m.; pl.
le uova f.)
urbano/a
vigile urbano
urgenza
d’urgenza
usare
uscire
uscita
utile
uva
uva passa
to kill
ofﬁce
post ofﬁce
last (in a series)
human
damp, humidity
damp, wet
a, an, one
unique, only
uniﬁcation
university
university
man
businessman
egg
urban
town
policeman
emergency
urgently, as an
emergency
to use
to go out
exit
useful
grapes
raisins
335
V
va bene
OK, good,
that’s ﬁne
vacanza
holiday
valid
valido/a
valigia
suitcase
valle (f.)
valley
valuta
currency
advantage
vantaggio
variare
to vary
vario/a
various
vasca (da bagno) bathtub
old
vecchio/a
vedere
to see
(pp. visto
or veduto)
veicolo
vehicle
vela
sail, sailing
veloce
fast
velocemente
rapidly
vena
vein
to sell
vendere
vendita
sale
venditore, -trice seller
venerdì (m.)
Friday
venire
to come
(pp. venuto)
venire fuori
to come out
vento
wind
veramente
actually, truly,
really
verbo
verb
verde
green
verdura
(green)
vegetable
veriﬁcare
to check
vero/a
true
versare
to remit, to pay
in, to pay
(a cheque)
verso
towards; at
about
336
Italian–English glossary
vestiario
vestirsi
vestito
via
via (adv.)
via aerea
viaggiare
viaggiatore,
-trice
viaggio
viale
vicino
(adj. and adv.)
vicino/a (n.)
vigile (urbano)
vigile del fuoco
vigore (m.)
in vigore
villaggio
vincere
(pp. vinto)
vino
viola
visione (f.)
visita
visitare
viso
vita
clothing,
wardrobe
to get dressed,
to dress
clothing, dress
street
away with . . . ,
be off! go
away!
by air mail
to travel
traveller
travel, journey
avenue
near, close
neighbour
policeman
ﬁreman
vigour
in force
village
to win
wine
violet
vision
visit, medical
examination
to visit (place);
to examine
(patient)
face
life
vitello
vivace
vivere
(pp. vissuto)
vivo/a
vocabolario
voce (f.)
voi
volante
volare
volentieri
volere
volere bene
a qualcuno
volere dire
volo
volta
vostro/a
vulcanico/a
vulcano
vuoto/a
veal
lively
to live
alive
vocabulary
voice
you (pl.)
driving wheel
to ﬂy
willingly, with
pleasure
to want
to be fond of,
love, someone
to mean
ﬂight
time, occasion
your
volcanic
volcano
empty
Z
zero
zia
zio
zitto/a
sta’ zitto
zona
zucchero
zucchino
zuppiera
zero
aunt
uncle
quiet, silent
be quiet!
zone, area
sugar
zucchino
baby marrow,
soup tureen
English–Italian
glossary
This list is selective. Words included in the ‘Vocabularies’ in the
various units are not usually given below. (The list of topics on
p. 348 will help you ﬁnd the appropriate ‘Vocabularies’.) Many
words that are similar in Italian will be located easily in the
Italian–English glossary. The gender of nouns not ending in -o or
-a has been included. The feminine of adjectives is given when it
is different from the masculine.
A
a, an
a lot
above
to accept
accident
according to
across
advance
advice
aeroplane
after
afternoon
again
against
age
ago
agreement
airport
all
to allow
almost
alone
along
un, una
parecchio, molto
sopra
accettare
incidente (m.)
secondo
attraverso
anticipo
consiglio
aereo
dopo
pomeriggio
ancora, di nuovo
contro
età
fa
accordo
aeroporto
tutto/a
permettere
quasi
solo/a
lungo/a
already
also
although
among
amusement
amusing
answer
to answer
any (it doesn’t
matter which)
apartment, ﬂat
to apologize
appointment
arrival
art gallery
già
anche
benchè
fra, tra
divertimento
divertente
risposta
rispondere
qualsiasi
appartamento
scusare
appuntamento
arrivo
museo, galleria
d’arte
at
a
at least
almeno
to attend (school) frequentare
average
medio/a
B
bad
badly
cattivo/a
male
338
English–Italian glossary
bag
bank
to be
to be able to
to be bored
to be born
to be called
to be fond of
beautiful
because
to become
before
to begin
beginning
behind
to believe
besides
better (adv.)
better (adj.)
between
beyond
big
bigger
biggest
bill
birthday
block of ﬂats
book
to book
booking
boy
brave
bread
bread roll
breakfast
bus
business
but
to buy
borsa
banca
essere
potere
annoiarsi
nascere
chiamarsi
volere bene a
bello/a
perché
diventare
prima (di)
cominciare
inizio
dietro (a/di)
credere
inoltre
meglio
migliore
fra, tra
oltre
grande,
grosso/a
maggiore
massimo/a,
più grande
conto
compleanno
palazzo
libro
prenotare
prenotazione (f.)
ragazzo
coraggioso/a
pane (m.)
panino
(prima)
colazione (f.)
autobus (m.)
affari (pl.)
ma
comprare
by (‘by Sunday’) entro
by
da, per
C
to call
car
car park
cash desk
cathedral
cellar
centre
century
to change
change (after
paying)
chemist’s shop
cheque
child
to choose
city
to clean
clean
climate
coin
cold (adj.)
cold (n.)
colour
to come
comfortable
comfortable, to
make oneself
common
consulate
to continue
cooking
cool
corner
correct
to cost
chiamare
macchina, auto
(-mobile) (f.)
parcheggio
cassa
duomo,
cattedrale (f.)
cantina
centro
secolo
cambiare
resto
farmacia
assegno
bambino/a
scegliere
città
pulire
pulito/a
clima (m.)
moneta
freddo/a
raffreddore (m.)
colore (m.)
venire
comodo/a
accomodarsi
comune
consolato
continuare
cucina
fresco/a
angolo
giusto/a
costare
English–Italian glossary
cotton
country
currency
current
cotone (m.)
paese (m.)
valuta
attuale
D
daily
damp
date
day
dear
to decide
to decrease
to deliver
to depart
departure
dialling code
to die
difference
different
difﬁcult
directory
dirty
discount
to displease
to do
doctor
door
double
down
to drive
during
quotidiano/a
umido/a
data
giorno, giornata
caro/a
decidere
diminuire
consegnare
partire
partenza
preﬁsso
morire
differenza
diverso/a,
differente
difﬁcile
elenco
sporco/a
sconto
dispiacere
fare
dottore, -essa;
medico
porta
doppio/a
giù
guidare
durante
E
each
early
earth
ogni
presto, in
anticipo
terra
339
egg
electricity
embassy
engaged (not
free)
to enjoy oneself
entrance
envelope
environment
et cetera, etc.
even
evening
every
everyone
everywhere
example
excellent
to excuse
exit
expense
expensive
to explain
uovo (m.; pl.
uova, f.)
elettricità,
luce (f.)
ambasciata
occupato/a
divertirsi
entrata
busta
ambiente (m.)
eccetera, ecc.
pure
sera
ogni
ognuno, tutti
dappertutto
esempio
ottimo/a
scusare
uscita
spesa
caro/a
spiegare
F
factory
fairly
to fall
family
far
farmer
fast
ﬁeld
ﬁrm
ﬁrst
ﬁsh
ﬂat (n.)
ﬂight
follow
football
fabbrica
abbastanza
cadere
famiglia
lontano
contadino
rapido/a, veloce
campo
ditta
primo/a
pesce (m.)
appartamento
volo
seguire
calcio
340
English–Italian glossary
for
foreigner
free
French
fresh
friend
from
fruit
full
per
straniero/a
libero/a
francese
fresco/a
amico/a
da, di
frutta
pieno
G
garden
generally
to get by
to get in/on
(vehicle)
to get off/out
of (vehicle)
to get up
girl
to give
to go
to go down
to go out
to go up
gold
good wishes
good heavens!
goodbye
government
to greet
greeting
to grow
guide
guidebook
giardino
in genere,
generalmente
cavarsela
salire su
scendere da
alzarsi
ragazza
dare
andare
scendere
uscire
salire
oro
auguri
accidenti!
arrivederci,
arrivederLa
governo
salutare
saluto
crescere
guida (f.) (even
if male)
guida (f.)
H
half
ham
metà, mezzo
prosciutto
hand
happy
to have
he
to heal
health
healthy
heavy
hello (on
telephone)
to help
help
here
here is, are
high
hill
history
to hold
holiday
hospital
hot
hotel
hour
house
how?
how many?
how much?
however
hunger
mano (f.)
felice, contento/a
avere
lui
guarire
salute
sano/a
pesante
pronto
aiutare
aiuto
qua, qui
ecco
alto/a
collina
storia
tenere
vacanza
ospedale (m.)
caldo/a
albergo
ora
casa
come?
quanti?
quanto?
comunque, però
fame (la)
I
ice cream
if
illness
immediately
impossible
in
in fact
in front of
in short
gelato
se
malattia
subito
impossibile
a, in
in effetti, in
realtà
davanti a
insomma
English–Italian glossary
indeed
to injure
inside
instead
interesting
to introduce
infatti
ferire
dentro
invece
interessante
presentare
K
to kill
kind
kitchen
to know
to learn
leather
left
less
letter
lift
light (n.)
light (adj.)
like
to like
to listen
little bit
to live
long
to look at
to look for
to lose
to love
lovely
luckily
lucky
lunch
perdere
amare
bello/a
meno male
fortunato/a
pranzo
M
uccidere
gentile
cucina
sapere (fact),
conoscere
(person/place)
L
language
last (most
recent)
last (in series)
lateness
lavatory
341
lingua
scorso/a
ultimo/a
ritardo
gabinetto,
toilette (f.)
imparare
pelle (f.)
sinistro/a
meno
lettera
ascensore (m.)
luce (f.)
leggero/a
come
piacere a (see
Units 2, 3 8)
ascoltare
un poco, un po’
abitare, vivere
lungo/a
guardare
cercare
magazine
to make
to make a
mistake
man
many
market
married
match (sport)
to matter
to mean
meanwhile
meat
mild
minute
Miss
money
month
more
motorway
mountain
mouth
Mr
Mrs
much
museum
rivista
fare
sbagliare
uomo (pl.
uomini)
molti
mercato
sposato/a
partita
importare
volere dire
intanto
carne (f.)
mite
minuto
signorina
denaro (sing.),
soldi (pl.)
mese
più
autostrada
montagna
bocca
signor(e)
signora
molto/a
museo
N
name
near
nome (m.)
vicino/a
342
English–Italian glossary
to need
never
never mind!
new
news
newspaper
next
next (in order)
next to
night
no
no one
noise
not at all
not even
nothing
to notice
now
number
avere bisogno di
mai
pazienza!
nuovo/a
notizia
giornale (m.)
poi
prossimo/a
accanto a
notte (f.)
no
nessuno/a
rumore (m.)
mica
neanche,
nemmeno,
neppure
niente, nulla
notare
adesso, ora
numero
O
of
ofﬁce
often
old
on
on the contrary
on the other
hand
only
open
to open
opposite
to order
other
our
outside
own
to own
di
ufﬁcio
spesso
vecchio/a
su
anzi
invece
solo
aperto/a
aprire
di fronte a
ordinare
altro/a
nostro/a
fuori
proprio/a
possedere
P
pain
pair
dolore (m.)
paio (m.;
pl. paia, f.)
paper
carta
passport
passaporto
to pay
pagare
peace
pace (f.)
pen
penna
people
gente (f. sing.)
pepper
pepe (m.)
perhaps
forse, può darsi,
magari
piece
pezzo
place
posto, luogo
plan
pianta, progetto
platform
binario (lit.
track)
to play
giocare
to play (musical suonare
instrument)
please
per favore,
per piacere,
per cortesia
pleased
contento/a
poor
povero/a
possible
possibile
postcard
cartolina
to prefer
preferire
price
prezzo
project
progetto
to put
mettere
Q
question
domanda
R
rain
to rain
rather
pioggia
piovere
piuttosto
English–Italian glossary
to read
ready
to realize
really
reason
receipt
to receive
region
to remain
to rest
restaurant
to return
rich
right (not left)
right (v. duty)
room
leggere
pronto/a
rendersi conto di
davvero, proprio
motivo, ragione
(f.)
ricevuta
ricevere
regione (f.)
rimanere
riposarsi
ristorante (m.)
tornare
ricco/a
destro/a
diritto
stanza
S
same
to say
scarcely
schedule
sea
to see
to seem
to sell
several
she
shopping, to
do the
short
to show
silk
similar
since (reason)
since (time)
sister
to sit down
size
skilful
stesso/a
dire
appena
orario
mare (m.)
vedere
sembrare, parere
vendere
parecchi
lei
fare la spesa
breve, corto/a
mostrare
seta
simile
siccome, poichè
da
sorella
accomodarsi,
sedersi
misura
bravo/a
343
skin
to sleep
slow
slowly
pelle (f.)
dormire
lento/a
piano,
lentamente
small
piccolo/a
to smoke
fumare
so
così, dunque
so many
tanti
so much
tanto/a
so that
perché
(+ subjunctive)
softly
piano
some
alcuni/e (with
pl.); qualche
(with sing.)
someone
qualcuno/a
something
qualche cosa,
qualcosa
space
posto, spazio
to speak
parlare
square
piazza; (adj.)
quadrato/a
stamp
francobollo
state
stato
station
stazione (f.)
still (not moving) fermo/a
still (adv.)
ancora
stop (bus-)
fermata
to stop
fermare
straight
dritto/a
strange
strano/a
street
strada, via
sun
sole (m.)
supermarket
supermercato
supper
cena
sweet (adj.)
dolce
T
to take
to take care of
prendere
curare
344
English–Italian glossary
tall
telephone
to thank
thank you
that
that is, i.e.
theft
then
there
therefore
thing
this
this evening
this morning
through
thus
ticket
time
timetable
tired
to
today
together
tomorrow
tongue
tonight
too
towards
town
town hall
trafﬁc light
train
travel
tree
trip
true
alto/a
telefono
ringraziare
grazie
quello/a, ciò
cioè
furto
allora, poi
là, lì
perciò
cosa
questo/a
stasera
stamattina
attraverso,
per
così
biglietto
ora (by clock),
tempo, volta
(occasion)
orario
stanco/a
a
oggi
insieme
domani
lingua
stanotte
troppo
verso
città
municipio,
palazzo
comunale
semaforo
treno
viaggiare
albero
gita,
escursione (f.)
vero/a
to try
to turn
provare
girare
U
ugly
under
to understand
unemployment
unfortunately
unhappy
up
to use
used to
useful
usual
brutto/a
sotto
capire
disoccupazione
(f.)
purtroppo
infelice,
scontento/a
su
usare
abituato/a a
utile
solito/a
V
very
village
molto
paese (m.)
W
to wait for
to wake up
walk
to walk
to want
aspettare
svegliarsi
passeggiata
camminare
volere,
desiderare
war
guerra
to wash (oneself) lavarsi
washing
lavatrice (f.)
machine
water
acqua
weak
debole
week
settimana
to weep
piangere
well (adv.)
bene
what?
che cosa?
English–Italian glossary
when?
where?
while
who?
why?
to win
wine
wish
with
with pleasure
woman
wool
word
work
to work
(to function)
quando?
dove?
mentre
chi?
perché?
vincere
vino
augurio
con
volentieri
donna
lana
parola
lavoro
funzionare
345
to work
(opposite:
play)
worker
world
worse
to write
lavorare
operaio
mondo
peggiore
scrivere
Y
year
yesterday
you (formal)
you (fam.)
young
your
anno
ieri
Lei
tu
giovane
vostro, tuo, Suo
Index
The numbers given against each entry refer to the unit(s) where
the relevant information is given.
Grammar
adjectives 2, 5
adverbs 8
articles
deﬁnite 3, 5
indeﬁnite 1
with prepositions 6
comparative 5
conditional 15
past conditional 15
diminutives 11
future 16
in reported speech 16
gerund 11
imperative 6
of sapere 11
with personal pronouns 14
imperfect 13
imperfect subjunctive 15
impersonal verbs, present
perfect 11
inﬁnitive 1, 2, 3, 11, 15
inﬁnitive + personal pronouns 14
interrogative pronouns and
adjectives 3, 4
moods/modes 15
negatives 3
‘neither . . . nor’ 15
‘no longer’ 14
‘no one’ 15
‘not at all’ (strong) 13
‘not even’ 13
‘nothing, not . . . anything’ 11
with present perfect 15
nouns 1, 2,
plural of 5, 7
numbers 1, 4
ordinal 3
partitive (‘some’) 7
passive 8, 9
past conditional 15
past deﬁnite 13
past participle, formation 8, 10
agreement when used with
essere
agreement with direct object
pronoun 16
personal pronouns + imperative 14
with inﬁnitive 14
pluperfect indicative 16
pluperfect subjunctive 15
possessive adjectives and pronouns
10
prepositions 6
with the article 6
present indicative 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
present perfect
with avere 11, 16
Index
with essere 10, 11
with negatives 15
pronouns
ci 12
ne 12
ci + ne 12
pronouns, personal
direct object 8
indirect object 9
reﬂexive 6
strong 1, 5
subject 1, 5
two combined 14
pronouns, relative 4
questions 3
reﬂexive verbs 6
present perfect 11
reported speech (future in) 16
subjunctive, general 15
imperfect 15
present 17
sufﬁxes 11
superlative 5
absolute (-issimo) 8
Words and expressions
a6
a causa di 13
ad esempio 9
affatto 13
altro 7
andare 6, 7
andarsene 16
avere 1, 5, 6, 17
basta 7
bere
gerund of 11
imperfect of 13
bisogno (avere bisogno di) 7
c’è/ci sono 8
che, che cosa 3, 4
che freddo! 10
chi 4
347
chissà 15
ci uses of 12
ci mette 4
ci vuole 9
cioè 9
come mai? 9
comunque 9
con + deﬁnite article 13
così 9
da 6, 8
da (qualcosa da + inﬁnitive) 11
da + present tense 11
dare
gerund of 11
imperfect of 13
di 6, 7
dire 6
dovere 2, 3, 5, 6, 8
dovrei 5
dunque 9
ecco 1
essere 1, 5, 6
farcela 16
fare 6
gerund of 11
imperfect of 13
forse 15
giorno/giornata 14
gran 13
granchè 13
grazie a 13
in 6
in + deﬁnite article 11
invece 9
lei 1, 2
lo so 3
magari 15
maggiore 5, 12
mi dispiace 1
mi piacciono 8
mi piace 2, 3, 8
mi piacerebbe 8
348
Index
mica 13
minore 5, 12
morire 12
ne, uses of 12
neppure 13
niente 11
non importa 7
nulla 11
ogni 4
per favore 1
perché 4, 17
potere 5, 6, 7
potrei 5
prego 1
produrre, gerund of 11
proprio 4
può darsi 15
qualche 8
qualcosa 11
qualsiasi 4
quanto costa? 5
quello 5
questo 3, 5
salire 4
sapere 3, 6
sapere, imperative of 11
scendere 4
scusi 1, 6
secondo me 5
sera/serata 14
si impersonal 4, 5, 8
stare 10
gerund of 11
imperfect of 13
stare + gerund 13
stare per 10
su 6
Topics
age 10
bar, café 1
body 14
clothes 6, 17
colours 7
countries 2
date 6
days of week 6
distance and area 8
false friends 5
family 10
ﬁnding the way 3
food 9
fruit 7
geography of Italy 8
greetings 1
health 14
holidays 10
home 12
Italian food 9
letters, business 16
letters, private 11
meals 9
months of year 6
nationality 2
occupation 2
place 8
points of compass 8
police 11
restaurant 9
seasons 6
un po’ 7
uscire 7
va bene 1
venire 6
volere 5, 6
vorrei 5
telephone 6
time 4
travel 4
weather 10
weights and measures 7

Scarica

Colloquial Italian: The Complete Course for Beginners

Colloquial Italian: The Complete Course for Beginners

ciao - Italiano Ab Initio

Verb conjugations

YOUR ITALIAN CV

Italiana I Selected Papers from the Proceedings

Relazione 3

ITALIAN WINE TREASURES

Italian Regular Verbs

IL FUTURO - Elmwood Park Memorial Middle School